Esperanza Spalding

“Onstage she is luminous, a major chord of exuberance… an evangelist of joy in various cool time signatures.” – T Magazine (The New York Times)

Bassist, composer, vocalist Esperanza Spalding is a phenomenally gifted jazz musician with talents much admired by her peers across genres. She shook the music industry in 2011 beating hot favourites Justin Bieber and Drake to win the Best New Artist award at the 53rd Grammys. And at the 2012 Oscars, she confirmed her position as an international star before a global audience of 40 million. She was also invited by US President Barack Obama to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony.

Spalding’s versatile feminine voice, enthralling bass playing and collaborations with legends such as Pat Metheny, Stevie Wonder and Bobby McFerrin quickly made her a Billboard name early in her career. Her 2008 album Esperanza stayed on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart for over 70 weeks, and it became the bestselling album worldwide by a new jazz artist that year.

With her ability to combine diverse musical styles, her compositions are accessible to audiences across spectrum. She makes the challenging task of weaving high-caliber artists into the context of a big band seem effortless, as evident in her latest 2012 release Radio Music Society, which debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.

Experience Spalding’s sensational music-making in a dynamic “big band” format over two nights at the Festival.  

Seductive, Spellbinding and Free