jazz continuum FROM RISING STARS TO LIVING LEGENDS, THE BROAD SPECTRUM OF MODERN JAZZ ARTISTRY.
“Esperanza Spalding will restore your faith in music.” –Time
» August 25: 21st Century Superstar
Esperanza Spalding Radio Music Society
“There are many gifted singers in jazz today, and no shortage of accomplished acoustic bass players. But few jazz artists can be both.” —NPR
A world-class acoustic and electric bassist, an enchanting singer, a savvy composer and charismatic bandleader — Esperanza Spalding is a bona fide star for the 21st century. With her triumph at the 2011 Grammy Awards, where she became the first jazz player ever to win Best New Artist, Spalding has quickly emerged as one of the era’s defining musicians. Debuting at #10 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, Esperanza’s latest genre-bending gem, Radio Music Society, is a project that binds her love of Brazilian music with threads of gospel, soul and big band swing. She brings largely the same ensemble to SFJAZZ, with fiery alto saxophonist Tia Fuller as musical director. Born and raised in Portland, Spalding discovered the upright bass as a teenager and soon immersed herself in blues, funk, hip hop, jazz and Latin American genres. At only 20, she became the youngest-ever professor at the Berklee College of Music and performed in 2009 at President Obama’s Nobel Prize acceptance ceremony. Still just 27, Esperanza is now an international pop icon with collaborators including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Lovano, Milton Nascimento and other giants. Only SFJAZZ has presented her four times in the Bay Area and we’re justifiably proud of this new tradition! Saturday, August 25, 8PM Paramount Theatre, oakland 30 / 40 / 60 / 75 premium Note: Tickets to this event went on sale to the public May 24.
30th Anniversary 1983–2012
jazz continuum
“Spalding has made her mark not just as a virtuoso jazz bassist or an effortlessly nimble singer but as an exotic hybrid of the two.” —The New York Times