Esperanza Spalding Releases “Radio Music Society”

Esperanza Spalding: Radio Music SocietyThe much anticipated new album by Esperanza Spalding, Radio Music Society, is finally here. The album is the follow up to her Grammy-award winning Chamber Music Society, the album is described as Spalding’s “most diverse, ambitious and masterful recital yet”.

Spalding considers the new album to be a companion to her last, rather than a sequel.

“Originally I thought it would be fun to release a double album,” Spalding said. “One disc with an intimate, subtle exploration of chamber works and a second one in which jazz musicians explore song forms and melodies that are formatted more along the lines of what we would categorize as ‘pop songs.’ Those are the two things that really interest me, and it intrigues me to think about different presentation approaches while writing each kind of song. On the pop song side, I think about listeners who aren’t into jazz, but I also think about the people within my musical community who can interpret each idea best.”

Radio Music Society is available as a standard, single audio CD version, and a deluxe, 2-disc edition, which includes a DVD

Preview and download Radio Music Society:

Spalding provided the story behind each of the album’s tracks:

  1. Radio Song: This song speaks to an experience we’ve all had at one time or another: when for whatever reason, you turn on the radio and a fragment of a song just grabs you, everything in the world seems to stop, and you sit mesmerized and uplifted by the music. That moment of “being touched” from the radio is a testament to the power of song, and it’s at that magical moment when an artist – even someone we know nothing about – truly connects with their equally unknown listener.
  2. Cinnamon Tree: This is about platonic love among friends, especially the people from childhood that remain with you along the way—no matter what. One of my dearest friends needed a song to cheer her up, and, in an attempt to explain the origin of her nonsensical nickname, I wrote “Cinnamon Tree.” Rightly enough, ruminating on the words “cinnamon tree,” I realized the many ways she brings good to my life, like real cinnamon, too!
  3. Crowned & Kissed: This song is about the unsung royalty in your life, men and women who quietly, every day do the mightiest, most honorable things. Although they may not end up in castles or with great riches and power, in the eyes of those who love them, they most certainly are mighty and regal.
  4. Land of the Free: Watching the news one day, there was a featured segment on Cornelius Dupree Jr., a man falsely accused of murder and convicted on bogus evidence. The judge would not admit DNA evidence, and he continued to be held for murder. Finally, after legal assistance from lawyers at the Innocence Project and with the admittance of new DNA evidence, he was acquitted after 30 years of imprisonment. When he spoke at the press conference after his release, he simply said, “Well, I’m kind of having a bit of mixed emotions. I’m kind of, I’m happy, and I’m kind of feeling mixed emotions. You know, after 30 years, that’s a hard walk. I just want to say that I feel that words really won’t make up for what I done lost. You know, I lost both my parents. I just feel that, you know, the system needs to be fixed, by whatever means, you know, so that it just won’t happen to anyone else. That’s about all I have to say.” These true words certainly can’t begin to speak to the injustices in our penal system. But, overwhelmed by the story, this song just came. Proceeds from the sales of this song go to the Innocence Project.
  5. Black Gold: – This song is singing to our African American heritage before slavery. Over the decades, so much of the strength in the African American community has seeded from resistance and endurance. I wanted to address the part of our heritage spanning back to pre-colonial Africa and the elements of Black pride that draw from our connection to our ancestors in their own land. I particularly wanted to create something that spoke to young boys.
  6. I Can’t Help It: I credit Gretchen Parlato for helping me choose this song. A few years back, Gretchen and I did several double bills together, and she would sing this as a duet with Lionel Loueke. I always loved this song, but hearing the melody, lyrics, and story arc pared down to its essentials, I fell in love with it even more, but didn’t know what to do with it in my own band. Sometime after, when I was sitting with the US Five Band and watching another band play standards, Joe Lovano leaned over and said, “Boy, when you do a classic, you can’t just do it the way it’s been done. You have to find your own reason for doing it.” That was the key for me, in terms of interpreting this song. For me, the energetic approach to the story is a dance between subtlety and effervescent eagerness. Joe is a featured guest on this track, and Gretchen—along with Becca Stevens and Justin Brown— is also singing.
  7. Hold on Me: Good old unrequited love. When you know the feelings may never be more than internal passion, but still can’t let it go. This song features pianist Janice Scroggins, drummer Billy Hart and Dr. Thara Memory, conducting and arranging for the American Music Program Big Band.
  8. Vague Suspicions: In the time we live, most of us in industrialized nations feel really detached from the indiscriminate killing of war. When we read the paper or hear the news of “civilian casualties” or “children perished in the attack,” we are shocked at the details and pictures, and confused about what to do/how to react/what to even think for that matter; and then something else is bound to grab our attention. If you have six minutes to listen to this song, for better or for worse, you’re invited to use this time to think about those realities.
  9. Endangered Species: Wayne Shorter’s album Atlantis is one of the great records of all time. On tour, the band and I would sing the songs in the van, and Leo Genovese (pianist) suggested playing “Endangered Species” live. There is SO much to discover in Wayne’s composition, and we were saturated for years exploring this piece at gigs. One night, I heard the first lyric “human, danger!” and kept on writing from there. Now I’ve partnered with a conservation association, so the proceeds of this song will go to protecting the lungs of the earth (which are terribly imperiled).
  10. Let Her: This is one of my older songs where I had been playing with different ways of writing contrapuntal lines, and this is one of the first “songs” that seemed to work out those experiments. The story is a combination of many different people I’ve known who are in miserable situations and then complain when they end.
  11. City of Roses: One of my favorite cities in the world, and my hometown, Portland, Oregon, is nicknamed “City of Roses.” This song attempts to portray the bounty of her treasures, and my fond memories of the people and the land.
  12. Smile Like That: This is another kind of relationship song, about one that’s clearly about to end. I’m saying, “Okay, I get it, let’s not beat around the bush, if you’re into this other person, go on ahead.” If someone you want to love doesn’t want to love you, better they move ahead, and you cut your ties and your losses…easier sung than done.

Radio Music Society Track List:

Disc 1:

  1. Radio Song
  2. Cinnamon Tree
  3. Crowned & Kissed
  4. Land Of The Free
  5. Black Gold
  6. I Can’t Help It
  7. Hold On Me
  8. Vague Suspicions
  9. Endangered Species
  10. Let Her
  11. City Of Roses
  12. Smile Like That

Disc 2 (Deluxe Version):

  1. Full Film
  2. Play Chapters
  3. Bonus Material -(Making of videos – Story Boards – Director’s Notes)

Radio Music Society Official Trailer:

Editor’s note: Look for the Phil Wain’s review of the album next week.

Get daily bass updates.

Get the latest news, videos, lessons, and more in your inbox every morning.

Share your thoughts