Esperanza Spalding is a 24 years old jazz bassist and singer. I don’t know about you, but a chick wielding a double bass is just too sexy.

I’ve been looking for her album, Esperanza for a long time and I finally found it.  It’s been a while since I heard jazz that is so refreshing.  Her singing is crisp and light at times, embracing and soulful at others.  The bass playing is spot on, carrying the groove deep in the pocket without being overbearing.  The arrangements are perfectly assembled and every instrument has it’s time, every note has it’s place.

To her, its not about how great her bass chops are, or how perfectly she sings each note.  It’s about the song coming to life and in this album, every song breathes life.

For a young jazz artiste, she has so much maturity in her playing its as if she was born to play music. Even crazy-haired Pat Metheny said she had the X-factor in music.

Almost immediately after graduating from Berklee College of Music, she was hired to teach, and is one of the youngest professors in the institution’s history.

She’s definitely a musician that’s on my favorites list. And if at 24, she has already achieved so much, I’m sure she’ll share plenty more groove in the years to come.

I heart Esperanza.

To save you from the agony of trying to decipher the song, the first clip is Doobie Brother’s “Long Train Running” and the second is a medley of “La Bamba” with “Twist and Shout”.

Enjoy.

Long Train Running

La Bamba/ Twist and Shout