Esperanza Spalding is a bassist, vocalist and composer from Portland, Oregon. She grew up in a single-parent home with her mother, and was home-schooled for many of her elementary school years due to illness.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10 At the age of four, after seeing classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma perform, Spalding decided to pursue a career in music.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10 The release of her second album, Esperanza, in 2008 led to numerous television appearances, including The Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live. It also led to two performances at the White House, an appearance in a Banana Republic ad campaign, the Jazz Journalists Association’s 2009 Jazz Award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year and an invitation from President Obama to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10

Her nomination for Best New Artist by the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards was announced in December 2010. She was nominated in the same category as Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence & The Machine and Mumford & Sons.http://www.grammy.com/nominees

At five years old, Spalding had learned how to play the violin well enough to be accepted into community orchestra The Chamber Music Society of Oregon. She stayed with the orchestra for 10 years, and by the age of 15 she had become a concertmaster.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10 Throughout her time with the society, she discovered the bass and began playing jazz, blues, funk, hip-hop and other styles on the local club circuit.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10 Spalding left high school at the age of 16 and, with a "generous" scholarship, enrolled as the youngest bass player at the time in Portland State University's music program.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10

Her time at Portland was followed by three years of study at the Berklee College of Music before she became an instructor there in 2005. At the time, Spalding was just 20 years old and was the youngest faculty member in the history of the college. The same year she was the recipient of the Boston Jazz Society scholarship for outstanding musicianship, and released her first solo album, Junjo, on the Spanish label Ayva.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10 http://www.allmusic.com/album/esperanza-r1346436 Spalding then took up numerous "networking opportunities" with renowned artists like pianist Michel Camilo, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Pat Metheny and singer Patti Austin before releasing a second album in 2008, this time through Heads Up International. The album, Esperanza, become that year's best-selling album by a new jazz artist internationally.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10 Her 2010 release, Chamber Music Society, featured a "diverse assembly" of musicians.http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/cms/?page_id=10

• Chamber Music Society (2010)http://www.mmsies.com/store/index.php?p=product&id=177&parent=0&store=front
• Esperanza (2008)http://www.allmusic.com/album/esperanza-r1346436
• Junjo (2005)http://www.allmusic.com/album/esperanza-r1346436

"Obviously, the audience that shows up to Austria's Vienna Opera House is going to be different than the audience that shows up to New York's Joe's Pub. I guess I'm really blessed that it's very diverse, and it will be a blessing as long as I stay relevant,"—On the state of modern jazz, in an interview with Jozen Cummings for website The Root on August 30, 2010http://www.theroot.com/views/root-interview-esperanza-spalding-staying-relevant?page=0,1

"Jazz, I think in its most popular days, was the music of young people who considered themselves awfully hip. And shoot, before that, it was just the popular dance music. So now, unless I want to go into hip-hop, or neo-soul, which is our "jazz" now as far as the role these genres play in the music genre lineage, I have to be prepared for the seasoned "art" community everywhere I go. It seems to me that is what jazz is becoming,"—Interview with Cheryl K. Symister-Masterson for the JazzReview.com in September 2006http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-4970.html