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The awardwinning musician says there will always be people who appreciate jazz
hen we told Esperanza Spalding that the great Herbie Hancock had described her as a “wonderful bassist, wonderful singer and bright talent”, she said the accolade was the highlight of her career. This was despite the five Grammy Awards she won in 2008, playing before President Obama at the White House and her teaching stint at Berklee College of Music.
Esperanza Spalding talked to tabloid! before playing at the Dubai Jazz Festival. You’ve done many concerts around the world, but what are your thoughts about playing in the Middle East at the Dubai Jazz Festival?
I don’t know what to expect from a place before I go there. I do lots of travelling, which is one of the best things about being a musician and about exploring the world artistically and exploring the world literally. I always feel that when we come to a place as musicians and connect with other people involved in art, those tend to be my favourite kind of people. We are kind of spoiled in that sense because everywhere we go we get to connect with lyrical people. That’s what I’m looking forward to in Dubai. What sort of an experience is it playing at a festival, alongside great musicians like Sting, John Legend and James Blunt — a blending of art and purpose?
Wow, everybody you Esperanza Spalding is playing tonight with John Legend as part of the Dubai Jazz Festival at Dubai Media City Ampitheatre. mentioned I dig for different reasons and I believe that the audience will have a similar response. There’s only two kinds of music — music you like and music you don’t like. So when you’re in a place surrounded by genres I don’t think it’s any different. One thing that I do like when I perform at a festival with mainstream artists is that their production tends to be different in the way jazz or classical musicians present their music. It’s interesting to me to see how people just put on a show while jazz musicians don’t put on a show, it’s a different kind of entertainment, but I’m equally happy to just see Herbie [Hancock] just play solo or Don Cherry play with a duo. It’s just good music and we’re gonna play some good music too. I hope. Where do you think you can express yourself the most — the studio, stage or at home?
Oh man! Everywhere, everywhere is different. I don’t think there’s different versions of me though I think. Playing bass or writing music or performing or rehearsing or composing, they are all are different mediums to express different aspects of my personality. So I don’t like one more than the other. What is the main source of inspiration for your music — books, poems, people, places, cities?
It’s a combo … news interests me a lot and I try to read a lot about history, places and people and artists, world events, figures and perspectives. I do read a lot and I think a lot of inspiration comes from other people’s ideas. Great writers or speakers, whatever, or just living on this planet. Experience is definitely the main source of inspiration, but often it’s something I read or hear, or shining a brighter light on my own experiences gives me a better