Esperanza Spalding - Radio Music Society 2012

Esperanza Spalding's fourth album, Radio Music Society (a companion piece to Chamber Music Society in name only) is one of enormous ambition -- polished production, sophisticated, busy charts, and classy songwriting -- that consciously juxtaposes neo-soul and adult-oriented jazz-tinged pop. It employs a stellar cast, largely of jazz musicians, to pull it off. She produced the set, with help from Q-Tip on a couple of numbers, and wrote all but two songs here: a cover of "I Can't Help It" (a Michael Jackson cover written by Stevie Wonder) and Wayne Shorter's "Endangered Species." There are truckloads of players, including three different all-star drummers in Terri Lyne Carrington, Jack DeJohnette, and Billy Hart, saxophonist Joe Lovano, and guitarists Jef Lee Johnson and Lionel Loueke on "Black Gold" (which also contains his vocals and an appearance by the Savannah Children's Choir). Though Ms. Spaldingtakes most lead vocals, there are also duet appearances from Lalah Hathaway and Algebra Blessett. Backing vocalists include Gretchen Parlato (who also anchors a chorus on several tunes) and Leni Stern. The American Music Program horn section appears on three cuts. The highlights here include "Crowned & Kissed" (a Q-Tip co-production) with its rubbery bassline, contrapuntal horns, Leo Genovese's artful pianism, and Carrington's impeccable sense of swing that bridges funk, neo-soul, jazz, and hip-hop. "Radio Song" contains layered interpolated rhythms (again courtesy of Carrington), sparkling Rhodes piano, syncopated horns and backing chorus, Spalding's alto croon, and a taut, popping bassline. Lovano's saxophone adds a truly elegant and graceful dimension to "I Can't Help It." The charts on Shorter's tune (with lyrics by Spalding) illuminate what may have been the composer's intent all along -- and nod at Pastorius-era Weather Report simultaneously. DeJohnette's funky subtlety drives the knotty fingerpop of "Let Her," and Hart's trademark, shimmering cymbal work on "Hold on Me" complements Spalding's sultry vocal in retro bluesy pop -- it's one of only a couple of places on the record where she plays acoustic bass. While Radio Music Society may play better to younger pop audiences than more die-hard jazzheads, this program is so diverse and well executed -- despite a little overreaching -- it's anybody's guess. AMG. 

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Esperanza Spalding - Chamber Music Society 2010

As evidenced by her self-titled 2008 debut, Esperanza Spalding is a quadruple threat as composer, bassist, singer, and producer. That album spent an astonishing 70 weeks on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart, and was the best-selling album by a new artist internationally for that calendar year. Given its critical and commercial success, a follow-up can exert so much pressure internally and externally, that an artist loses her/his focus and the end result is less than stellar. Not so with Chamber Music Society. Spaldinghas assembled an intriguing collection of tunes, is accompanied by stellar backing musicians -- drummerTerri Lynne Carrington, pianist Leonardo Genovese, and percussionist Quintino Cinalli with a pair of string players -- and guests that reveal her exquisite taste in both compositions and arrangements (the latter with intermittent help from Gil Goldstein). The album opens with a Spalding composition to illustrate William Blake's poem "Little Fly"; her vocal is understated yet fully articulate. She is backed only by her bass and a graceful, small, unintrusive string section. "Winter Sun" is a standout with its fingerpopping breaks and a melodic nu-soul vocal that touches on scat with astute syncopation, and features taut, imaginative bass and piano solos. It walks the line between modern jazz and adult contemporary R&B . On Esperanza, she covered Milton Nascimento's "Ponta de Areia." Here, she ups the ante by duetting with the Brazilian artist on her own "Apple Blossom," backed by strings and Richard Vogt's nylon-string guitar. Nascimento's trademark baritone is allowed considerable improvisational freedom that features his otherworldly falsetto. Her reading of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Inutil Paisagem" almost forgoes samba entirely in favor of a more classically disciplined duet vocal arrangement, asSpalding's voice and bass are accompanied only by Gretchen Parlato's divine vocal. Parlato also appears with wordless singing on "Knowledge of Good and Evil," in a breezy yet complex chart that underscores a deft harmonic interaction with the band. Spalding's arrangement of Dimitri Tiomkin's and Ned Washington's classic "Wild Is the Wind" features David Eggar guesting on cello and Genovese playing melodica, and combines jazz, tango, and classic pop. "What a Friend" combines contemporary and Rhodes-driven soulful electric jazz. Chamber Music Society is a more sophisticated offering thanEsperanza. That said, with its musical diversity, stylistic panache, humor, and soul, it's also a more enjoyable listen. AMG.listen here