Music and sound have long been known not only as a mode of artistic expression for creators and entertainment for listeners, but also as a tool for healing oneself and others. A powerful pathway to communicating and even shifting emotions, opening hearts and minds, or, as esperanza spalding calls them: portals. As we'll learn on this episode of Mixtape Memoir, esperanza has been connected to this powerful capacity that music has her entire life. During our conversation you will hear her refer to the musics where she received her “harmonic calibration” while growing into the multi-Grammy-winning composer, bassist, songwriter, singer, and Harvard University professor she is today.

We’ll learn that the calibration she speaks of is not limited to genre, and can be as specific and unique to the individual as we are from one another, and perhaps once identified, almost prescriptive in nature. In recent years, esperanza has been exploring, researching, and experimenting with this in her own recordings, work and in her Harvard University lab, and most recently, in her series of “songwrights apothecary labs”: collaborations with musicians, neuroscientists, music therapists, and poets that culminated in her now Grammy-nominated eighth album of the same name - a collection of twelve songs called formwela’s.

Born in 1984 esperanza was a wunderkind, who by age five was playing violin with the Chamber Music Society in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Though a multi-instrumentalist, she found her instrument in the upright bass, and after dropping out of high school at 15, went to Portland State University, then Berklee College of Music, both on full scholarship to study. At 20, she became the youngest instructor in Berklee's history, and at 34 earned an honorary doctorate, a year after she began teaching at Harvard.

For many, esperanza seemingly came out of nowhere in 2011 when she won a Grammy for Best New Artist, beating out Justin Bieber, Drake, Mumford & Sons and Florence & the Machine. The Recording Academy had never given this honor to a jazz artist before, not to mention a female jazz artist. Today, esperanza has eight albums, four Grammy’s, and eight nominations to her name, including the recently announced nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album for the upcoming awards in January 2022. Perhaps the most exciting new frontier for esperanza spalding is the opera she has been working on with jazz legend Wayne Shorter, Iphigenia - which recently premiered in Boston, followed by two performances at the Kennedy Center in DC.

This episode not only is a sonic journey through esperanza’s life in music, it also showcases her gift for opening our ears to hear and experience even well worn classics in a new, exciting, and improvisational way. 

Credits:

Host/creator/creative director - Carmel Holt @carmelholt @sheroesmixtape @sheroesradio
Engineer/Mixing/Mastering - Phoebe Wang @feebswang 
Theme music - Lucius @ilovelucius
Cover art - Merle Cooper @m.c.cooper
Art direction - @carmelholt 
Guest: esperanza spalding / @esperanzaspalding
Label: Concord / @concordofficial Concord Jazz / @concordjazz