Bassist, singer and composer Esperanza Spalding began playing in small jazz and blues venues around her hometown of Portland, Oregon. A Berklee College of Music Graduate and Instructor, Spalding has worked with such notable artists as Michel Camilo, Dave Samuels, Regina Carter, the Boston Pops Orchestra, Pat Metheny, Terri Lyn Carrington and Patti Austin, and has toured Mexico with Joe Lovano.

• Limited Edition
• 180 Gram Vinyl

Esperanza Spalding's debut is now available as a Limited Edition high-quality vinyl pressing. The album was listed in Best of 2010 polls for NPR, Village Voice, JazzTimes and many more. Indispensable for every fan! This collector's item showcases the star just as her career was just beginning to explode.

Esperanza Spalding is here to stay. Bassist, singer and composer, she began playing in small jazz and blues venues around her hometown of Portland, Oregon. A Berklee College of Music Graduate and Instructor, Spalding has worked with such notable artists as Michel Camilo, Dave Samuels, Regina Carter, the Boston Pops Orchestra, Pat Metheny, and Terri Lyn Carrington and Patti Austin, and has toured Mexico with Joe Lovano. She is the 2005 recipient of the prestigious Boston Jazz Society scholarship for outstanding musicianship.

At only 21 years of age, she's most similar to what is known as a "total musician." In addition to singing and playing the bass, she is a composer and does all of her own arrangements. She also arranges her own versions of works of important contemporary composers. In Junjo, the first musical production under the direction of this American artist, Esperanza gives her touches to pieces that range from the modern jazz trio to contemporary Brazilian music, to Argentine folk music. For her, this project is a dream come true. It is her first album as well as the first production under her direction. The trio is completed with the artistry of two excellent musicians, pianist Aruán Ortiz and drummer Francisco Mela. Junjo has Esperanza's personal seal: the superb sense of time that she possesses and always succeeds in communicating to her audiences, and her great devotion to the instrument she plays.

"Subtle, sophisticated, and rhythmically seductive, Junjo is a sparkling debut." - Vibe

"Soulful songs and masterful bass playing have made Esperanza Spalding a rising star in the jazz world." - People

"She communicates her upbeat personality in everything she plays. She is definitely headed for a great career, and it will be soon." - Gary Burton, multiple Grammy winning vibraphonist

"She is simply the most promising musician I've come across in recent years. Such maturity and musicality would have been impressive enough had she been in her thirties, but she's barely twenty." - Alain Mallet, pianist of the Paul Simon Band & Phil Woods Quintet

Junjo is the 2006 debut release from the Grammy Award winning (2011 Best New Artist) vocalist/double-bassist Esperanza Spalding. The 9-song set features original works by Esperanza, pianist Aruan Ortiz and drummer Francisco Mela in addition to handpicked classics by Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti, Jimmy Rowles and Chick Corea.

Spalding's vocalese on “Loro,” is an album highlight while she can be heard scatting in unison with Ortiz’s piano line on the title tune and singing in Spanish on “Cantora de Yala” with just her own supple bass playing as the sole accompaniment.

The highly relaxed and nuanced mood that pervades Junjo is the result of focused and empathetic performances from all three trio members and reveals, in particular, the impressive talents of the album’s gifted young leader. Now in its definitive version on audiophile 180g vinyl LP!

Musicians:

Esperanza Spalding, vocals, bass
Aruan Ortiz, piano
Francisco Mela, drums

Track Listing:

1. The Peacocks
2. Loro
3. Mompouana
4. Perazuan
5. Humpty Dumpty
6. Cantora De Yala
7. Junjo
8. Two Bad
9. Perazela

Click here to listen to samples on AllMusic.com ♫