Esperanza Spalding
To celebrate her birthday month, Esperanza Spalding, the multiple Grammy Award winner, goes back on the road for a special two-week tour.
Joined by longtime collaborators Leo Genovese and Lyndon Rochelle, the trio will perform at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside on Thursday, Oct. 2.
“Playing as a trio is my favorite form of making music,” said Spalding, who will turn 30 on Oct. 18. “I think it’s the best way to present myself and the way in which I’m most comfortable.”
But Spalding has obviously been comfortable making music since she was a little girl, sharing her love of music with her mother, who nearly became a touring singer herself. And while she acknowledges that her mother was a powerful influence in her life, one who encouraged her musical expansion, oddly enough she attributes her inspiration for pursuing a life in music
to watching Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood and Sesame Street when she was 4.
“Some of the songs I heard on those shows were great,” she said. “I don’t know how else a little kid could hear anything on that level, such great music and great arranging.”
Of course, she admits, as she grew older there were other musical influences, such as Harry Belafonte, Louis Armstrong and others.
“At the time, I also thought alternative and oldies stations on the radio were the greatest.”
Learning to play many instruments, Spalding began performing in clubs in her hometown of Portland, Oregon as a teenager, securing her first gig at 15.
“At the same time, I left home and began working in an office,” she recalled. “In Oregon, you can work at 13. But the work kept interfering with my gigs, and pretty soon I realized I could make enough money to pay my bills just by making music, which is what I loved doing. I always wanted to do more, to learn more, but it never seemed as though it would become a career. It’s just what I wanted to do.”
It was at Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts where all the pieces came together and doors started to open. She not only earned a B.M., but signed on as an instructor at the age of 20, an appointment that has made her the youngest faculty member in the history of the college.
Today, the jazz bassist, cellist and singer has quickly risen to the top of the music business. She said she makes music because she loves to make music, but certainly appreciates all the awards and accolades that have come her way.
“It shows me that a lot of people are thinking about me and my music. I think it’s wonderful that people are listening and paying attention, but at the same time I don’t think it’s fair to compare individual creativity.”
When Spalding gets to the Keswick, she said the trio will be playing selections from all four of her critically acclaimed records, including selections from Junjo, Esperanza, Chamber Music Society and Radio Music Society, all prior to her new release.
“I see this as a retrospective in my little short life,” she laughed.
But have no fear. This almost 30-year-old is looking forward to many more years of making music. ••
Tickets are $39.50 and $47.50. For more information, call 215–572–7650.
