Esperanza Spalding

Smithsonian Collections

Description: Born Portland, Oregon; Jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding electrified the Grammy Awards in 2011 by winning honors as Best New Artist. She was inspired as a child by Yo-Yo Ma and played several different stringed instruments before settling on the bass when she was in high school. She released her first album, Junjo, in 2006. Her fourth release, Radio Music Society, received high critical marks at its release in March 2012. Spalding’s musical roots reflect her cultural diversity—her father is African American; her mother Welsh, Native American, and Hispanic—and she sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.; Sandrine Lee’s photograph shows the musician in an old railroad station in Connecticut. Spalding has emphasized in interviews that music does not only happen in recording studios and concert halls, but also in more intimate, everyday spaces, as captured here.

Credit Line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Sandrine Lee

Medium: Digitally exposed chromogenic print
Dimensions: Image: 40.5 x 61 cm (15 15/16 x 24"); Sheet: 50.7 x 71.2 cm (19 15/16 x 28 1/16")

Topic: Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair; Music\Musical instrument\Violin; Equipment\Drafting & Writing Implements\Writing implement\Pencil; Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Bench; Music\Sheet music; Music\Musical instrument\Cello; Interior\Train station; Esperanza Spalding: Female; Esperanza Spalding: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician; Esperanza Spalding: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Composer; Esperanza Spalding: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz; Portrait

Culture: Esperanza Spalding: Native American; Esperanza Spalding: American\African American; Esperanza Spalding: American\Hispanic American

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