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Review
For a relative stripling, Esperanza Spalding is already well-schooled in the mysteries of jazz. It's rare for an upright bass player to be an out-front singer, and such an oddity is even less likely to be female. Nevertheless, Spalding effortlessly entertains from a physically disadvantaged position, projecting to the furthest corners of any concert hall.
For her third album, New Jersey resident Spalding has created a more intimate pleasure. Its title hints at the subtleties within: Chamber Music Society finds Spalding's accustomed quartet augmented by a string trio. Her co-producer also happens to be Gil Goldstein, one of the prime arrangers in jazz.
Spalding's original compositions sound like standards already, and her specialised interests are becoming more apparent with each disc. Brazilian music is central, as is a predilection for lyrics that look to nature, symbolising humanity through references to the seasons, as well as flora and fauna. The opening Little Fly sets a William Blake poem, and the following Apple Blossom and Winter Sun continue this thematic sequence, combining fatalism, melancholia and hope.
Knowledge of Good and Evil is the first of the album's strongly Brazilian-steeped tunes, acting largely as a vehicle for Spalding's scatrobatics. Her brightly skipping voice is well-suited to such verbal dynamics – it’s a fragile instrument, but not weak. These unfettered vocal excursions might sometimes range close to risking excess, but they're invariably well-contrasted with the string trio's framing. As if one scatter wasn't sufficient, Spalding is joined on this song by Gretchen Parlato, one of the quirkier new jazz singers on the block.
Spalding introduces vocal overdubs on Really Very Small, prompting some impressive layering. Her keyboardist Leo Genovese contributes Chacarera, revealing that he too is spellbound by Brazil. David Eggar's cello solo features strongly, and the music of Argentina's Ástor Piazzolla also appears in the clunky angularities of the strings. There are endless details in the production, which is rife with string flourishes and percussion minutiae. Spalding doesn't overdo the bass solos, but there's a particularly nimble example during Winter Sun.
Milton Nascimento drops by for a duet on Apple Blossom, with the two singers exchanging roles of high and low-voiced parts. What a Friend is very reminiscent of Airto and Flora Purim's style, once again painting images of Brazil. Then, to crown the whole experience, it's down to Rio for a very minimalist interpretation of Antonio Carlos Jobim's delicately tiptoeing Inútil Paisagem (Useless Landscape).
--Martin LongleyFind more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Review
"A striking presence on the jazz scene, Esperanza Spalding is young, black, prodigiously talented – and female. Her fresh and unusual style has won her critical acclaim and ardent fans, as well as forcing old-school jazz proponents to sit up and take notice...She has that rare X-Factor of being able to transmit a personal vision and energy"--Telegraph Magazine
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I love jazz, but sometimes I feel that many of the most talented jazz artists get carried away in the demonstration of their technique and talent, at the expense of free expression of feeling jazz was once about. The result is solos with perfect technique that are nevertheless emotionally dry. 'Chamber Music Society' is the perfect antidote to my personal disillusionment; it takes amazing talent to bring across the sense of free-wheeling emotion and weightlessness that is integral to this album. This is contemporary jazz at its best - the music of the heart!
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Having never listened to jazz before...I bought this album on a spur of the moment having read a review in a national newspaper. I have not been disappointed! I'm not sure what to say really about the album as I'm not qualified enough to talk about jazz...but what I do know is that I like good music. And I can tell you, this is good music. Fantastic vocals, brilliant musicianship, catchy songs. If anyone wants to point me in the direction of some other good jazz albums that would be greatly appreciated!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a fabulous album. Its my introduction to her music and I love it. A breath of fresh air that i really needed. I strongly Advise anyone who loves jazz to buy this album the music is so versatile it can be used in a number of occasions.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Smooth, sexy, cool album
Got this album as a gift for an uncle after seeing Esperanza perform on Letterman. No complaints from my uncle so far and I have to say, having listened to the album myself,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Odg
An intriguingly cool jazz album
Esperanza Spalding is probably one of the most talented female modern jazz musicians of this decade. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Amillionmiles
Love Esperanza
Have been listening to Esperanza Spalding for quite a while now and am so happy that she is finally been recognized within the music world. Read more
Published 12 months ago by lovemurakami
I was
Delighted. Hoped to see Ms Spalding with Joe Lovano and US Five and didn't and sulked, then bought the cd on impulse anyway. It's so good I'm almost tempted to buy it twice. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Geezer
Experience Esperanza !
Esperanza Spalding sings and plays the big bad bass.
This is to hugely understate her self-evident gifts! Read more
This is to hugely understate her self-evident gifts! Read more
Published 16 months ago by The Wolf
five or even more stars
I see no reason why anybody who's willing to listen something good and new hasn't this cd at home.. Without a doubt, this is the greatest E.S. we've seen since Junjo. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Patrice
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