Monday, Mar. 24, 2014 | 06:24
Esperanza Spalding - Radio Music Society
esperanza spalding was a rising jazz star when she won the best new artist grammy. it's not an undeserved award, but her last album was less jazz and more r&b and pop. that's not a bad thing in and of itself, though i tend to be less interested in jazz musicians who go pop than i am those who explore jazz inside the idiom. not like wynton marsalis, who is a virtuosic traditionalist, but more like, well, i don't know who the current example would be. ken vandermark, perhaps. i really don't know.
as for spalding's music, well, r&b and neo-soul are not really my idiom. i dig badu, but beyond her i have trouble feeling included. no, that's not a fair statement. jazz isn't my idiom, how can i relate to it?, but i love jazz. especially the fifties and sixties, bop, post-bop, free, and early fusion. so maybe i just don't like it. no clear reason, and that should be ok. when spalding stays with jazz, even the more fusion end of her jazz, i much prefer it. her production is a little slicker than i'd like, and her recordings could stretch more. i'll hold off on her next release until i know how it sounds. i want more jazz from her, more music. press record and see where it goes.
