{"id":380,"date":"2011-02-14T14:22:10","date_gmt":"2011-02-14T19:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/2011\/02\/esperanza_who_grammys_best_new\/"},"modified":"2011-02-14T14:22:10","modified_gmt":"2011-02-14T19:22:10","slug":"esperanza_who_grammys_best_new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2011\/02\/esperanza_who_grammys_best_new.html","title":{"rendered":"Esperanza who? Grammy&#8217;s Best New Artist (and more)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Best New Artist of the Year, according to the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.grammy.com\/\"> Grammys<\/a>, is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.esperanzaspalding.com\/\">Esperanza Spalding<\/a>, a 26-year-old jazz bassist and singer whose most recent album is titled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Chamber-Music-Society\/dp\/B003YQ1QUA\/?tag=howardmacom-20\"><i>Chamber Music Society<\/i><\/a>. What!? or should the question be, How?! Full congrats, she&#8217;s as bright a rising star as has emerged from jazz by virtue of her charm and chops since 2006 &#8212; when <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Junjo\/dp\/B000QZY0CS\/?tag=howardmacom-20\">Junjo<\/a>, her first CD, was released. She beat out some kid named <a href=\"http:\/\/www.justinbiebermusic.com\/neversaynever\/\">Justin Bieber<\/a>, whose fans are <a href=\"http:\/\/technolog.msnbc.msn.com\/_news\/2011\/02\/14\/6052555-bieber-fans-go-on-grammy-fueled-wikipedia-rampage\">enraged<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div><\/p>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"425\" height=\"349\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/grRpZhLmQLk\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\nI have no insight into how this happened, although perhaps Bieber, the odds-on favorite, was done in by touch competition from Drake (rapper-crooner), Florence and the Machine (British pop\/rock singer whose recordings are described as &#8220;musically mature and emotionally mesmerizing by AllMusic.com, which I won&#8217;t link to because it won&#8217;t let you come back to me)&nbsp;and Mumford &amp; Sons (alt.rockers with country roots), none of whom I&#8217;ve heard of. Which shows how out of it I am.<\/p>\n<div><\/p>\n<div>Esperanza may not be a convention-destroying genius, but she&#8217;s one daring and forthright young woman who plays bass&nbsp;plenty&nbsp;well enough to hold the chair in tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano&#8217;s estimable, uncompromising Us Five group (check out their latest, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Bird-Songs\/dp\/B004ID4SL2\/?tag=howardmacom-20\">Bird Songs<\/a>). Bieber, on the other hand, is just huge, on the basis of . . . how he sings, dancers and appears for instance in this video below, saved (maybe) from being absolutely ludicrous (in the mind of the typical adult) by Ludacris.<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"425\" height=\"269\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kffacxfA7G4\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It&#8217;s hard not to gloat about talent winning out. Of course, Bieber is crying all the way to the bank. On the other hand, Spalding may have a longer and more interesting career. Here&#8217;s hoping. . .&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.howardmandel.com\" target=\"blank\">howardmandel.com<\/a> <br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/JazzBeyondJazz\" target=\"_blank\">Subscribe by Email or  RSS<\/a> <br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/archives.html\" target=\"_blank\"> All JBJ posts <\/a><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/w.sharethis.com\/widget\/?tabs=web%2Cpost%2Cemail&amp;charset=utf-8&amp;style=default&amp;publisher=6ed88875-2235-4b29-aaa3-60183b0bcbcc\"><\/script> \n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Best New Artist of the Year, according to the Grammys, is Esperanza Spalding, a 26-year-old jazz bassist and singer whose most recent album is titled Chamber Music Society. What!? or should the question be, How?! Full congrats, she&#8217;s as bright a rising star as has emerged from jazz by virtue of her charm and chops [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1159,441,1162,1158,1157,1160,1161],"class_list":{"0":"post-380","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"tag-drake","8":"tag-esperanza-spalding","9":"tag-florence-and-the-machine","10":"tag-grammy","11":"tag-justin-bieber","12":"tag-ludacris","13":"tag-mumford-and-sons","14":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-68","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":869,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/04\/new-york-jazz-now-on-records-listen-and-be-wowed.html","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":0},"title":"New York jazz now, on records (listen and be wowed)","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"City Arts did post my column of record reviews so please read what I wrote about Henry Cole and the Afrobeat Collective, Steve Lehman Trio, Less Magnetic (on Facebook, or view their show below), Esperanza Spalding, Michael Bates (plays Shostakovich), and Wayne Escoffrey. Then, I urge you, check out samples\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/04\/new-york-jazz-now-on-records-listen-and-be-wowed.html#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/acrobat-bates4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":231,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2009\/08\/mr_teachout_gets_the_word.html","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":1},"title":"Mr. Teachout gets the word: Jazz&#8217;s Swing Era popularity past","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"August 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Biographer of H L. Mencken and (coming soon) Louis Armstrong, ArtsJournal blogger and scribe for the Wall Street Journal Terry Teachout has raised a fuss\u00c2\u00a0by pointing to the National Endowment for the Arts'\u00c2\u00a0study citing declines in jazz audiences from 2002 to 2008 (and indeed from 1982 to 2008). That this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":886,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/04\/intl-jazz-day-as-it-happens-unesco-concerts-live-streamed.html","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":2},"title":"Int&#8217;l Jazz Day as it happens: UNESCO concerts live-streamed","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"April 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A sunrise concert \u00c2\u00a0in New Orleans' Congo Square, from which jazz arose,\u00c2\u00a0in celebration of UNESCO's International Jazz Day (spearheaded by Herbie Hancock), is being streamed as I write (Dr. Michael White took the last solo, over the Dirty Dozen Brass Band) at Jazzday.com\u00c2\u00a0and at the Thelonious Monk Institute website. Those\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/INTLjazzdayBlogathon240x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":304,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2010\/03\/she_plays_like_a_girl_great.html","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":3},"title":"She plays like a girl? That&#8217;s hot &#8212; and cool!","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"March 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Women are making future jazz history -- despite seldom showing up in top high school band competitions. My new\u00c2\u00a0column\u00c2\u00a0in City Arts - New York's Review of Culture, has local names and immediate dates; jazz gender parity is a slow movement but my bet is it's irreversible. Having heard Cassandra Wilson\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":931,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/06\/jazz-andor-free-new-york-city-summer-music-festivals.html","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":4},"title":"Jazz and\/or free New York City summer music festivals","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"June 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I love the conjunction of \"free,\" \"jazz,\" \"festivals,\" \"summer\" and \"New York City\" \u00c2\u00a0-- though not all free fests are jazz, and not all jazz fests are free (in either of two senses of the word). For instance, the 17th Vision Festival, which I write up in my CityArts-New York\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;main&quot;","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/summerstage-hendrix-finale1-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2231,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2017\/05\/whatever-happened-to-international-jazz-day.html","url_meta":{"origin":380,"position":5},"title":"Whatever happened to International Jazz Day?","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"May 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"April 30 -- yesterday -- was celebrated as the sixth annual International Jazz Day with a global webcast from Havana, hosted by Will Smith, headlined\u00c2\u00a0by pianist Herbie Hancock and including a couple of dozen top notch musicians from the U.S., Russia, Cameroon, France and Korea as well as Cuba. Did\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Esperanza Spalding\"","block_context":{"text":"Esperanza Spalding","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/tag\/esperanza-spalding"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Jazz-Day-Map-03.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Jazz-Day-Map-03.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Jazz-Day-Map-03.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/2017-Jazz-Day-Map-03.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}