Esperanza Spalding on World Tour | 2010-2011
BASSIST, VOCALIST AND COMPOSER ESPERANZA SPALDING
ANNOUNCES WORLD TOUR IN SUPPORT OF NEW RELEASE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY
Centuries ago, long before the advent of radio or recording technology, chamber music was the music for the masses – the music in which people from nearly every segment of society could find meaning and relevance. A decade into the 21st century, Esperanza Spalding – the bassist, vocalist and composer who first appeared on the jazz scene in 2008 – takes a contemporary approach to this once universal form of entertainment with a world tour in support of Chamber Music Society, her August 17, 2010, release on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group.
Esperanza creates a modern chamber music group that combines the spontaneity and intrigue of improvisation with sweet and angular string trio arrangements. The result is a sound that weaves the innovative elements of jazz, folk and world music into the enduring foundations of classical music.
“So much of my early musical experience was spent playing chamber music on the violin, and it’s a form of music that I’ve always loved,” says Esperanza. “I was very inspired by a lot of classical music, and chamber music in particular. I’m intrigued by the concept of intimate works that can be played and experienced among friends in an intimate setting. So I decided to create my version of contemporary chamber music, and add one more voice to that rich history.”
Chamber Music Society is a place where connoisseurs of classical music and jazz devotees – and fans of other musics as well – can find common ground. The recording offers a chamber music for modern times – one that brings together people of different perspectives and broadens their cultural experience, just as it did in an earlier age.
Esperanza first took the world by storm in 2008 with her self-titled debut recording that spent more than 70 weeks on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. Spalding was booked on the Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, the CBS Saturday Early Show, the Tavis Smiley Show, Austin City Limits and National Public Radio. Other highlights included two appearances at the White House, a Banana Republic ad campaign, the Jazz Journalists Association’s 2009 Jazz Award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year, the 2009 JazzWeek Award for Record of the Year, and many high profile tour dates, including Central Park SummerStage in New York and the Newport Jazz Festival. 2009 was capped by an invitation from President Obama to perform at both the Nobel Prize Ceremony in Oslo, Norway – where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded – and also at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert.
In early 2010, Spalding was the subject of an in-depth profile in The New Yorker, she was also featured in the May 2010 Anniversary issue of O, The Oprah Magazine’s “Women on the Rise” (in a fashion spread that features portraits of 10 women who are making a difference in various careers), and she was again nominated by the Jazz Journalists Association for their 2010 Jazz Award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year.
“I’m confident that this music will touch people,” she says of Chamber Music Society. “We all want to hear sincerity and originality in music, and anyone can recognize and appreciate when love and truth are transmitted through art. No matter what else has or hasn’t been achieved on this recording, those things are definitely a part of this music. Those are the things I really want to deliver.”
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2010
September 5th with Tokyo Jazz Festival with Terri Lyn Carrington – Tokyo, Japan
September 17th – Grinell College – Grinell, IA
September 19th – Stoughton Opera House – Soughton, WI
September 21st & 22nd – Dakota – Minneapolis, MN
September 23 Leighton Concert Hall- DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts -Notre Dame –IN, September 24th – Knight Theater – Charlotte, NC-
September 29th – Byham Theater – New York, NY
October- 2nd – Sanders Theatre Harvard Univ. – Cambridge, MA
October 3rd – Lincoln Theatre- Washington DC-
October 7th – Santa Monica College of performing arts – The Broad Stage – Santa Monica. CA –
October 8th – Spanos Theatre – San Luis Obispo, CA –
October 10th – Davies Symphony Hall – San Francisco, CA –
October 11th – Kate Buchanan Hall -Humbolt State University – Arcata, CA
October 16th – Plenary at the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies conference – Austin, TX (performance and speaking engagement)
October 24th – Philarmonie – Luxemburg – LX
October 27th – Muzikgebouw – Amsterdam – Holland
October 28th – Theaterhaus Gessnerallee Zurich – Winterthur – CH
October 29th – Stockolm Konzerthus – Stockholm – Sweden
November 1st – Goteborg Konzerthus – Goteborg – Sweden
November 2nd- Black Diamond – Copenhaguen – Denmark
November 4th – Logen Thatre – Bergen – Norway
November 5th – Sentrum Scene – Oslo – Norway
November 8th – Theatre de L’Atelier – Paris – France
November 10th – Victoria Hall – Geneve- CH
November 13th – Queen Elizabeth Hall – London – UK
November 17th – Fest. Jazz (Teatro F. Fernan Gomez) – Madrid – Spain
November 19th – Auditorio – Zaragoza – Spain
November 20th – Festival Jazz Cartagena – Cartagena – Spain
November 21st – Teatro Isabel La Católica – Granada – Spain
December 9th – Hancher Auditorium – Iowa City- IA
December 10th – Chicago Symphony – Chicago- IL (double bill Regina Carter)
December 11th – Buffalo State Performing Arts Center – Buffalo State College – Buffalo
2011
January 11th to 16th – Village Vanguard – NY with Joe Lovano
January 21st – Weber Chapel Auditorium, Susquahenna University – Sellinsgrove PA
January 22th – Bergen Community College – Paramus, NJ
February 25th – Newmark Theater – Portland, OR
February 26th – Bovard Auditorium – Univ of Southern California – Los Angeles, CA
February 27th – Campbell Hall – Univ. Of Santa barbara – Santa Barbara, CA
March 3rd- Shaftman Performance Hall, Jefferson Center – Roanoke, VA
March 4th – Weinberg Center – Frederick, MD