35 years is a serious date in the life of every person. It is believed that at this age a person should already stand firmly on his feet, achieve success in his career and personal life. But in creativity it is much more difficult, especially in music.
How to find exactly the direction in which you will become successful? And in such a direction as jazz, it is almost impossible to be realized. Real jazz cannot be learned, it has to be lived.
And Esperanza Spaulding managed to do just that. She turned her life into a jazz composition that she enjoys herself and shares with her listeners.
How many jazz bass players do you know? The names of such virtuosos as Markus Miller, Jaco Pastorius are immediately remembered, on whose fingers you just need to pray.
Notice the men's names. Of the women “on the bass”, only grandmother Suzi Quatro comes to mind, who took the only 4 notes for more than four decades.
A jazz bassist is a real exotic. It's like a woman astronaut who went into outer space. Erased fingers, forever torn off nails and aching joints of the hands from high-speed passages.
Agree, not many girls are able to endure this. If only your name is Nadezhda, that is exactly what the name Esperanza means in translation. This is the only way they could call this talented performer with unsurpassed vocals.
The Seattle Times Company wrote about the girl that she is irresistible. Her playing on the double bass, combined with singing, "gives birth" to an interpretive dance.
The four strings of the double bass give rise to a unique sound. Each has its own unique mood and its own sound.
The birth of a little star
Born October 18, 1984 in Portland, Esperanza has been a resilient and virtuous child since childhood. It could not be otherwise, because the mother, raising the girl and her brother alone, became a role model.
The girl with special love and awe described this strong and unique woman who managed to do a million things in her life.
She worked as a baker, carpenter, orphanage and trade unionist with Cesar Chavez.
Already at the age of 4, the girl decided to connect her life with music, having once seen the performance of the Chinese cellist Yo-Yo Ma. And this was not childish maximalism, her desire was conscious and serious.
Enrolling in a music school, for health reasons, the future performer was forced to go through most of the program at home.
Having mastered the skills of playing the violin practically on her own, a year later the stubborn girl began to take an active part in the performances of the Oregon Chamber Orchestra.
It was then that she began to seriously master the double bass and come into closer contact with the world of jazz. After graduating from high school, Esperanza entered the University of Portland, choosing the Department of Music and Arts.
But the training quickly ceased to suit the girl, since not much time was devoted directly to music lessons.
The girl was forced to take lessons from teachers in private and play in a group, with which she even managed to record several tracks.
Wanting more, the girl moved to the famous Berkeley University, where in three years of accelerated study she received an honors degree and became the youngest teacher.
At 21, the resilient girl received the title of the winner of one of the most prestigious scholarships of the jazz community in Boston.
String A
Having learned to keep the rhythm, you can safely begin to master the game on the A string. The melody becomes more melodic and more interesting. Do not be afraid to rub calluses, only in this way you can learn not to slip off both strings.
After the release of the debut album, critics started talking about the young bassist. Posters with her name appeared in the halls for jazz lovers. Performing in a duet with jazz vocalist Patti Austin, the girl learned how to keep the attention of listeners.
In 2008, the next studio album Esperanza was released, where the already full-fledged jazz vocalist Esperanza performed compositions in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Reviews for the album were mixed.
All this did not prevent the resolute singer from participating in jazz festivals, even taking part in the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
The elegance of the D string
Esperanza received a significant number of awards in 2011. "Jazz Artist of the Year", "Grammy", "Best New Artist", beating Justin Bieber. Her album became the best-selling of the year.
In 2012, she did the impossible by releasing Radio Music Society. She managed to bring jazz improvisations to the radio format. Nobody had done this before her.
In 2013, the singer received new Grammy awards. As the vocalist, bassist and composer admits, awards for her are an incentive for further development.
Graceful and thin G-string
A virtuoso string solo adds versatility to the sound. But we must not forget that this string breaks very easily.
singer today
To date, Esperanza continues to record albums, the last one was released in 2016, now they are working on a new album and performing to the delight of connoisseurs and fans of real jazz.
Her life in jazz continues, and we believe that new achievements and victories await her ahead.
