Esperanza Spalding: Concert Review

Someone once said that racehorses haven’t gotten faster because they don’t look at stopwatches, but humans have sped up ever since they began timing themselves. The same can be said for jazz: Even as the music becomes ever more esoteric and marginal, many college-educated players are displaying historic feats of virtuosity. They build on the harmonic concepts of bebop, but are influenced by the rhythms and instruments of the world. At jazz conferences and competitions, these Young Turks can seem almost robotic, however. The neverending complexity of the music, too, can be exhausting to a lay listener.

Then along comes a monster player such as Esperanza Spalding, whose two sets I heard last night at the San Francisco Yoshi’s. A child prodigy, now a Berklee instructor (the youngest ever), composer and seasoned pro, 24-year-old Spalding melds virtuosity and soul. With an unassuming, sylph-like stage presence and simultaneously playing a double bass foreshortened for her petite frame, she scats, subtly dances and improvises lightning-fast arpeggios while never breaking a sweat.

Unusual for a jazz singer, her clear, dynamic voice lies most comfortably in the soprano register but swoops easily down to huskier alto regions. It contains a hint of alternative R&B styling a la Erykah Badu but never any pop affectation. She easily switches from fluty straight-toned Brazilian riffs to throaty vibrato. Her melismas sound jazzy and scatty, but uncontrived and seemingly from an inexhaustible source of ideas. Her beautiful pitch, tone and joy make it impossible to turn away.

On a few tunes, the rest of the band (Leo Genovese on piano with dashes of Rhodes and Melodica, Ricardo Vogt on guitar, Otis Brown on drumset) sang as well, doing an excellent approximation of the vocal overdubbing on her eponymous record. One wordless (and, according to Spalding, nameless) tune, written by Genovese, was a mesmerizing duo that few singers could deliver, let alone shine on. Grooves and meters changed constantly, yet instead of a frenetic mess Spalding again revealed a glorious piece of art, often doubling the punishingly intervallic piano lines. Also notable, and not surprising, was the frequent use of bass hooks on most of the tunes. An example? The opening ostinato on Body and Soul (sung in English, not the Spanish translation on her record) -- flawless in a fast 5/4.

She repeated most of the English-language originals on her first set for the 10 o’clock show, but did add one additional Brazilian tune in perfect Portuguese. Guitarist Vogt sang it with her, revealing even more vocal talent on the stage.

Oh, and she was funny. In short, Esperanza Spalding is the Michael Phelps of jazz. What will she be like in 10 years? I simply can’t imagine, but I’ll be listening.

http://www.myspace.com/esperanzaspalding