Esperanza Spalding
Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1984, Esperanza Spalding developed an intuitive relationship with music at an early age before studying at the Berklee College of Music, where she later taught. A bassist, singer and composer, she works in contemporary jazz that incorporates elements of soul, pop, rock, Afro‑Latin music and chamber music. She recorded her first album, Junjo, in 2006, followed by Esperanza in 2008, which established her internationally, then Chamber Music Society in 2010 and Radio Music Society in 2012—two projects that explored, respectively, a more intimate and a more urban side of her writing. With Emily’s D+Evolution (2016) Spalding turned to a concept album merging rock, funk and stage dramaturgy, continued by Exposure (2017), created within a limited-time composition setup, then 12 Little Spells (2018), focused on the articulation between body, text and sound, and Songwrights Apothecary Lab (2021), which combines musical research with reflection on listening. She sings in several languages, notably English, Spanish and Portuguese, and has a highly melodic bass approach often paired with a supple voice and frequent vocal improvisation. Her career includes numerous collaborations with jazz and improvised-music musicians and a steady presence on international festival stages; in 2011 it was marked by a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, a rare recognition for an artist primarily rooted in jazz.
upcoming events 1
NN North Sea Jazz Festival - Vrijdag Dagkaart
- Fri, July 10
- Rotterdam Ahoy Netherlands
- Rotterdam
- Sienna Spiro, Jalen Ngonda, Diana Krall, Bilal, The Isley Brothers, The Roots, Jon Batiste, Asaf Avidan, Robert Glasper, LA LOM, KOKOROKO, Snarky Puppy, Metropole Orkest, Esperanza Spalding, Cécile Mclorin Salvant, Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Kenny Barron, Eric Harland, Gallowstreet, Vijay Iyer, Wadada Leo Smith, Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge, Yuri Honing, Steve Coleman
past events 3
| May 16, 2025 |
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| Apr 17, 2018 |
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| Nov 3, 2015 |
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