On May 5th I was fortunate enough to join an eclectic crowd in San Francisco at the Independent featuring Esperanza Spalding Presents: Emily’s D+Evolution. The show was an amazing mix of performance art and music, melding Jazz, R&B, Funk and Rock layered on top with performance pieces by Esperanza and her band.Â
Sticking strictly to playing electric bass for this set, Esperanza employed a fretless Fender Jazz as well as her custom South Paw fretless 5 string. Throughout the performance, her playing was so fluid and full of emotion it was truly a delight to the senses. And one things for sure, that girl can groove!
The short set lasted only about an hour, with Esperanza explaining, in lieu of an encore, that the music was so new that the band didn’t know anymore songs. She did leave us with a lovely a cappella version of “Little Fly” from her album “Chamber Music Society†before calling it a night.
Esperanza Spalding Presents: Emily’s D+Evolution tour is just getting started and I highly recommend that you check it out if they come to a city near you. For more info check out Esperanza’s website: http://esperanzaspalding.com/
Here’s a taste of her performance I found on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/ob_zBeOh6zA