Esperanza, Part One: Before The Crazy

I’ve written about Esperanza Spalding in the past. And I’m going to write about her again, tomorrow. Specifically, I’m going to discuss her new album, Emily’s D+Evolution, which is quite insane. And sane. At the same time. Like I said. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.

To bring some of you up to speed on Miss Spalding, however, here’s a Michael Jackson cover that appeared on her last studio album, Radio Music Society. It’s a good introduction to the Esperanza character, so to speak. Deluxe editions of Radio Music Society shipped with a one-hour DVD feature in which Esperanza plays a female bass player who becomes entangled in a variety of sexual and romantic entanglements with men and women of various races. This video is excerpted from the feature; in it, Esperanza falls in love, or at least lust, with a white girl.

One note before I let you watch the video: The saxophone part is actually performed by Joe Lovano, not Bob Mover. Bob is the saxophonist for Esperanza’s touring band, which is why he’s in the movie and Lovano isn’t. So check it out, and come back tomorrow so we can say goodbye to Esperanza and hello to “Emily”.