"Esperanza" CD
Released 5/20/2008
Esperanza's opening track, "Ponta De Areia" nods to one of the many places she comes from musically. The track, with its languid, nursery rhyme-like melody and beautifully understated instrumental accompaniment, gently opens the listener to an aural experience that's quite unlike anything else out there. Spalding sings in three languages here -- English, Spanish, and Portuguese -- she plays bass, does the arranging, and acts as her own producer on this wildly diverse and exceptionally well-executed set. How does a 23-year-old get all that control? Simple: she's a prodigy; she is a seasoned session player (she's worked with Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, and Patti Austin to name just three), and she's a faculty member at the Berklee College of Music. - Thom Jurek (AllMusic.com)
Tracklist:
| 1. Ponta De Areia | 5:40 |
| 2. I Know You Know | 3:46 |
| 3. Fall In | 3:57 |
| 4. I Adore You | 7:27 |
| 5. Cuerpo Y Alma (Body & Soul) | 8:02 |
| 6. She Got To You | 4:28 |
| 7. Precious | 4:24 |
| 8. Mela | 6:56 |
| 9. Love In Time | 5:46 |
| 10. Espera | 4:39 |
| 11. If That's True | 7:32 |
| 12. Samba Em Preludio | 5:12 |