Biography
Who is Esperanza Spalding?
Early life and education
Esperanza Spalding was born October 18, 1984, in Portland, Oregon. Her father is African American. Her mother has Welsh, Hispanic, and Native American ancestry. She lived in the King neighborhood of northeast Portland. She was home schooled for some elementary years because of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. She also attended King Elementary School. She learned music by listening to a jazz guitar professor who taught her mother. Watching Yo-Yo Ma on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood inspired her to pursue music.
At age five, she taught herself the violin. She performed with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon until she was 15. She served as the concertmaster for that group. She later attended The Northwest Academy on a scholarship. There she played the oboe and clarinet. She discovered the double bass at this high school. She left the academy at 16 after finishing her GED.
Music career and albums
Esperanza studied music at Portland State University with a scholarship. She later attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship. Her first album, Junjo, came out in 2006 through Ayva Musica. In 2008, she released a self-titled album with Heads Up. Her 2010 record, Chamber Music Society, reached number 34 on the Billboard 200. This work won her the Grammy for Best New Artist.
She released Radio Music Society in 2012. This album earned the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. The song City of Roses won for Best Arrangement. She later released Emily's D+Evolution on Concord Records. Tony Visconti co-produced this funk rock album. She released Exposure with a limit of 7,777 copies. Her 2019 album 12 Little Spells hit number one on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. It won another Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Teaching and academic roles
Esperanza Spalding began teaching at Berklee College of Music when she was 20. She taught private lessons and bass performance. She encouraged her students to use practice journals. In 2017, she became a Harvard professor of the practice of music. She resigned from this position in 2022.
She has received two honorary doctorates. One is from her former school, Berklee College of Music. The other is from the California Institute of the Arts. She has also won a Boston Music Award and a Soul Train Music Award.
Instruments and musical style
Esperanza is a composer, singer, and double-bassist. She played in a blues club at age 15. She was a singer and lyricist for the indie group Noise for Pretend. In 2002, she played bass on the album Transfiguration of Vincent by M. Ward. She is self-taught on the guitar and bass. Her music incorporates funk, soul, and jazz.
Birthday and age
Esperanza Spalding was born on October 18, 1984, which makes Esperanza 42 years old today. That birthday falls under the Libra sign. Esperanza shares the date with 49 other famous people.
Explore more
