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Esperanza Spalding

#61
zombywoof5050 said:
Ok, maybe I jumped the gun a little bit, I just read another bio on her and found out she had graduated from Berklee (I didn't catch that in the first bio I read on her).

But, regarding this part of her bio..

"..she was miserable in high school, so she dropped out, passed her GED, and enrolled at a local university. Not much happier there, her bass teacher convinced her to apply to Berklee. She was awarded a full scholarship.."

I don't quite get how a high school dropout with a GED gets a full scholarship? I must be pretty naive, but I guess if you're a good enough player they will give you a scholarship? I thought people that got scholarships were people that excelled all through school, rather than dropping out.

Anyway, she is very talented and can only get better, and I wish her all the success she deserves. I hope anything I said has not offended her or anyone else.
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Berklee is a music school and they give out scholarships based on musical ability and potential ,they require a high school diploma or a GED. I have a friend who dropped out of high school,got a GED and went to MIT graduating in the top 5% of his class when he was 16!(got out @ 20) Now he is a damn genius but he did do it.
 
#63
For the record, I dont give a ratsass where she went to school. Akin to being a solider, training is good, but in a firefight, its all about how you are perceiving your instantaneous reality, how "clearr" and "authentic" you can perform at, be "in the moment" at, not precicsely who trained you, or where you trained. None of that matters " in the moment" of performance, especially to an impartial observer who dont know Berklee from Berkeley.

Female looks??? Well we still do judge superficially, we havent progressed that far, ---- yet. At least Espy isnt a silicone implanted surgically enhanced blonde that Hollyweird has glorified to utter ubsurdity. Poor Marilyn Monroe rolls in her grave. Those chics have gotten ugly to me. I've grown to pity them. " Oh, I;m so sorry you were born blonde." ;)

Music performance is a show, i.e, an audio-visual thing, so how a performer looks counts. To the point of being all about looks and no talent like select pop stars. And this is from the "blind guy who tries to see souls not faces", so debating a tautology is, well, kinda like breathing air.
 
#64
BuffaloBass said:
For the record, I dont give a ratsass where she went to school.
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Well, the point of mentioning her school background is that someone was questioning her qualifications to teach college. No one said they liked her performance chops because she went to Berklee!

As far as whether her teaching style is effective, that's subjective. But to flat out say, "Esperanza has no business teaching at Berklee, let alone any college.", well that's a huge claim coming from someone who's never even met her or actually had lessons from her!
 
#65
Caught her show in Portland last night, (Thanks again for the heads up Scott!!)... Wow!! Raw talent fronting a smokin' band. Maybe it was performing in front of a supportive, home town crowd, but there was so much authority and love coming from the stage. Never heard her music prior to last night, but I was floored with the playing and singing... Someone who could make it as a singer or a player, wrapping both so effectively... Pretty potent package...

As for looks, well... I'm recovering from recent PRK surgery, so details were murky, but when my eyes were open it was captivating watching her dance with the bass and lead the band from the front...

And yeah, I did the fan thingy and got my CD signed after the show :cool:

-robert
 
#67
periodical said:
she is at least as qualified to teach as anyone else at Berklee
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That statement may be more revealing than you intended!


bassdoubler said:
I also may have a different respect for the rest of Berklee's faculty now....
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Which begs the question: What prompted your (presumed) earlier respect for the rest of Berklee's faculty? If you somehow think they're all full professors with PhD's, or famous/well-respected performers with unimaginably enviable discogrophies, you've been overestimating their collective CV. With very few exceptions Berklee's faculty consists of journeymen; working stiffs with practical professional experience in the trenches. Because Berklee's goal is to turn every student into a versatile working musician capable of surviving in the trenches.

Ms. Spaulding already has everything most other Berklee faculty members have, except experience. Arguably that omission is the most egregious of any possible shortcomings...but lack of a pedigreed education definitely does not make her an oddity on the faculty.
 
#68
For what it's worth, Rich Appleman is the most influential teacher I ever studied with and his academic credentials never came into play. His extensive real- life, gigging experience and exceptional musicality were what helped me grow as a player. There were many time when he barely played during a lesson and, in fact, I learned a hell of a lot from him in talking about the bass and music. There were times when neither of us actually did a lot of playing and I still walked away with a new idea or something to work on.

In fact, I would say that far worse scenario is the all too common one of a bass "lesson" where the teacher just plays the whole time and the student gets a private concert.
 
#70
Hoover said:
That statement may be more revealing than you intended!




Which begs the question: What prompted your (presumed) earlier respect for the rest of Berklee's faculty? If you somehow think they're all full professors with PhD's, or famous/well-respected performers with unimaginably enviable discogrophies, you've been overestimating their collective CV. With very few exceptions Berklee's faculty consists of journeymen; working stiffs with practical professional experience in the trenches. Because Berklee's goal is to turn every student into a versatile working musician capable of surviving in the trenches.

Ms. Spaulding already has everything most other Berklee faculty members have, except experience. Arguably that omission is the most egregious of any possible shortcomings...but lack of a pedigreed education definitely does not make her an oddity on the faculty.
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Actually most colleges with music programs have teachers who are great at what they do but who have little formal academic training. My university uses local legend Tom Kennedy (Dave Weckl) as an adjunct faculty member, and I understand that he did not actually finish high school. That said, I seriously doubt if anyone would argue that he doesn't know a whole lot about playing bass!:eek:
 
#72
I finally got her CD today, and frankly I cannot take anyone seriously who questions her talent. I'm not deeply into double bass, but I have heard enough over my life to know that she definitely has the goods! As for her not having the experience to teach at Berkley, that is a lame criticism. She is a prodigy, her genius is what she shares with students. Berkley has more than one professor on it's bass faculty. A student who wants many years of experience to learn from can work with faculty who can share that. Every academic department has a mix of faculty who bring different things to the table whether it is a performing arts faculty or an arts & sciences faculty like the one I head.

As for her playing, she makes me think of bassists who grooved in the late 1950's and 1960's in a Latin/Soul influenced sort of jazz like that served up by Horace Silver, Cannon Ball Adderley, or Les McCann/Eddie Harris. She also can get straight ahead when she wants to also. Overall, she seems like the acoustic bass equivalent of Richard Bona. A great instrumentalist with obvious influences, but great originality also plus both are first rate vocalists who can sign like birds while groovin' like muthas!:D

BTW, if sister-girl ever takes up electric bass, it will be lights out!:bassist: She is already nasty funky on acoustic when she wants to be, she could downright stank with a Jazz or a Stingray!:eek:
 
#73
Dr. Cheese said:
I finally got her CD today, and frankly I cannot take anyone seriously who questions her talent. I'm not deeply into double bass, but I have heard enough over my life to know that she definitely has the goods! As for her not having the experience to teach at Berkley, that is a lame criticism. She is a prodigy, her genius is what she shares with students. Berkley has more than one professor on it's bass faculty. A student who wants many years of experience to learn from can work with faculty who can share that. Every academic department has a mix of faculty who bring different things to the table whether it is a performing arts faculty or an arts & sciences faculty like the one I head.

As for her playing, she makes me think of bassists who grooved in the late 1950's and 1960's in a Latin/Soul influenced sort of jazz like that served up by Horace Silver, Cannon Ball Adderley, or Les McCann/Eddie Harris. She also can get straight ahead when she wants to also. Overall, she seems like the acoustic bass equivalent of Richard Bona. A great instrumentalist with obvious influences, but great originality also plus both are first rate vocalists who can sign like birds while groovin' like muthas!:D

BTW, if sister-girl ever takes up electric bass, it will be lights out!:bassist: She is already nasty funky on acoustic when she wants to be, she could downright stank with a Jazz or a Stingray!:eek:
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Well said Doc! I downloaded her CD about a week ago. I have no complaints at all.
 
#74
I'd LOVE to hear her growl up 500 watts pumpin' 8 10" drivers! For SURE! ( I understand that upright and electric are different disciplines.)

Yeah, she is the real deal. An authentic musican, you can get that "aura" ever over the air waves on the Letterman show in fact. Like watching James Brown on the old TV. Man,you just KNEW that cat was where its at.

Dr. Cheese, anyone who questions that authenticity just *might* have an ego fault at play, i.e, its their own reality thats out of synch with nature, completley epiphenominal to Espy's talent and grace. I might actually pity someone who blinds themselves to beauty.
 
#75
I love her music, I think her singing is more amazing then her bass playing(IMHO), but she has some cool lines and she can lay it down. Anyway, I think she does play electric too. There's a video of her on her Myspace performing a tuner where she's playing an acoustic bass guitar.
 
#76
The_Orlonater said:
I love her music, I think her singing is more amazing then her bass playing(IMHO), but she has some cool lines and she can lay it down. Anyway, I think she does play electric too. There's a video of her on her Myspace performing a tuner where she's playing an acoustic bass guitar.
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As far as I know, she only plays acoustic bass guitar (fretless.) I'm sure she can nail solidbody bass guitar if she wants too. If she doesn't she is mighty fine the way she is.:)
 
#78
Dr. Cheese said:
I finally got her CD today, and frankly I cannot take anyone seriously who questions her talent. I'm not deeply into double bass, but I have heard enough over my life to know that she definitely has the goods!
Click to expand...

As much as I dug her album when I first bought it, it has even grown on me more with each listen. She is truly a wonderful & major new talent!
 
#80
Esperanza's CD is great for practice. Those Latin and samba style grooves definitely give me a different feel than what I normally play. Her sixteenth note riff on the verse of "I Know You Know" sounds like a bass guitar to me. I know it's not, but I love how she was able to get that feel on doublebass.:)
 

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