After the Grammy's

While everyone was watching reality TV, I was watching forensic files. Now I'm lost in the sea of reality TV. I don't know what happened, just got sucked in one day. It all started with Sober House, yes, I'm that far behind, and am now onto Heavy. I will admit, I did not watch the Grammy's. However, they do interest me enough to take a look at what happened. When I saw the name Esperanza Spalding topping all Grammy news I was a little lost. Who? Esperanza Spalding. I knew other names that whispered through the news stories. Names like Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Eminem, Rihanna, and the list goes on. I actually surprised myself at the amount of names I actually recognized and could think of a song or songs to go along with the names. This name though, Esperanza Spalding went right over my head, I'll admit, so I did a little research. If you were lost like me, hop on, I think you'll enjoy the ride.

The Basics of Esperanza Spalding

Esperanza Spalding, according to her website, is a singer, bassist, composer. If you click the website above, the first thing you notice is a beautiful petite woman. As the music plays in the background though, you soon realize her voice is far from tiny, but indeed as beautiful as she is. This woman seems to have it all really. Intelligence, looks, talent, its all there wrapped up in a tiny package. When you read her bio you quickly find out she is very intelligent. As unfair as it is, most people view GED as opposed to a high school diploma in an unflattering way. Reading this bio will soon make you lose that bias and you will never judge anyone that way again. After receiving her GED, she went through an accelerated study to receive a B.M. at Berklee College of Music and became an instructor there, at age 20. She says in her bio that she knew at age four, after viewing a Mr. Roger's Show that music was to be her fate. Way to go Mr. Rogers! See those good old shows really do have a good influence.

Upon reading more about her, it is very interesting to see who she's played music with and where. It again makes one wonder how her name isn't a household word. On Wikipedia, there's a pictures of her playing at various great events like the Nobel Peace Prize Concert of 2009 and many Jazz Festivals. The Boston Herald reports that she played with well known artists like Prince and Stevie Wonder. You can find clips of her playing at the White House on YouTube as well.

Best New Artist at the Grammy's

Esperanza Spalding won Best New Artist at the Grammy's, and despite the buzz of protest I've been reading, I think its awesome. Instead of it going to a name that everyone knows, it went to someone that many, not just myself went "Who?". I mean that's what "New Artist" should be about right? The up and coming, not the been there done that. I realize after reading as much information as I could cram in that she has been around since . She performed for audiences at Jay Leno and David Letterman as recently as January, but then that was after her nomination. The video can be seen here, of her performance on David Letterman. He introduces her album Chamber Music Society.

I'll end this article with a big congrats and hats off to Esperanza Spalding. This is one artist I definitely wish a continued success to. I'm glad the Grammy's Best New Artist was called to my attention as it really did introduce me to someone new. I will now be following her music.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanza_Spalding
Bob Young "Esperanza Spalding was star student at Berklee" The Boston Herald
http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/