Edmonton Journal

Grammy winner to play jazz fest

- SANDRA SPEROUNES ssperounes@ edmontonjo­urnal.com Twitter.com/sperounes

One of the most unexpected winners in recent Grammy history will headline next year’s Edmonton Internatio­nal Jazz Festival.

Bassist/singer Esperanza Spalding will perform Tuesday, June 25 at the Winspear Centre. Tickets are $49.75 to $70.75 plus service charges. On sale Friday at winspearce­ntre. com or 780-428-1414.

The Portland, Ore. native, a relative unknown in the world of mainstream music, was named Best New Artist at the 2011 Grammy Awards, beating out such heavyweigh­ts and “sure things” as popsqueak Justin Bieber, urban star Drake, folkies Mumford & Sons, and dark popsters Florence + The Machine. Spalding, 28, has since released Radio Music Society, which is nominated for best jazz vocal album at next year’s Grammys.

Sarah Brightman is delaying the release of her 11th album, Dreamchase­r, and the start of her 2013 tour, which means she won’t be performing March 18 at Rexall Place. Instead, fans of the British popera/ Broadway star will have to wait until Oct. 22.

Dreamchase­r was supposed to be released Jan. 22. April is the new target.

“Whilst I regret any inconvenie­nce that this rescheduli­ng might have occasioned for those people who have already bought tickets, the restructur­ing of my worldwide album release plan made it inevitable,” Brightman said in a statement. “Clearly a concert is always more enjoyable if there is familiarit­y with the music being performed and given how important this new Dreamchase­r album is to me, I am keen for those attending my shows to hear it prior to the performanc­e. I’m delighted with the new album and very excited about the show that I’ll be presenting in 2013.”

Tickets purchased to the March 18 show will be honoured at the later date. Refunds are available at point of purchase for those who can’t attend in October.

 ?? KEVIN WINTER/ GETTY IMAGES ?? Bassist/singer Esperanza Spalding accepts the Best New Artist Grammy she unexpected­ly won in 2011.
KEVIN WINTER/ GETTY IMAGES Bassist/singer Esperanza Spalding accepts the Best New Artist Grammy she unexpected­ly won in 2011.

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