Amazon Rainforest
Forest
Amazon rainforest, near Manaus, Brazil.
Countries	Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, France (French Guyana)
Part of	South America
River	Amazon River
Area	5,500,000 km2 (2,123,562 sq mi)
Map of the Amazon rainforest ecoregions as delineated by the WWF. Yellow line approximately encloses the Amazon drainage basin. National boundaries shown in black. Satellite image from NASA.

The Amazon Rainforest (in Portuguese, Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia; Spanish Selva Amazónica, Amazonía or usually Amazonia), also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America. This basin encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), of which five and a half million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. States or departments in four nations contain "Amazonas" in their names. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and it comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

Etymology[link]

The name Amazon is said to arise from a war Francisco de Orellana fought with a tribe of Tapuyas and other tribes from South America. The women of the tribe fought alongside the men, as was the custom among the entire tribe.^[1] Orellana derived the name Amazonas from the ancient Amazons of Asia and Africa described by Herodotus and Diodorus in Greek legends.^[1]

History[link]

Natural[link]

Earth during the Eocene

The rainforest likely formed during the Eocene era. It appeared following a global reduction of tropical temperatures when the Atlantic Ocean had widened sufficiently to provide a warm, moist climate to the Amazon basin. The rain forest has been in existence for at least 55 million years, and most of the region remained free of savanna-type biomes at least until the current ice age, when the climate was drier and savanna more widespread.^[2][3]

Following the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the wetter climate may have allowed the tropical rainforest to spread out across the continent. From 65–34 Mya, the rainforest extended as far south as 45°. Climate fluctuations during the last 34 million years have allowed savanna regions to expand into the tropics. During the Oligocene, for example, the rainforest spanned a relatively narrow band that lay mostly above latitude 15°N. It expanded again during the Middle Miocene, then retracted to a mostly inland formation at the last glacial maximum.^[4] However, the rainforest still managed to thrive during these glacial periods, allowing for the survival and evolution of a broad diversity of species.^[5]

The Amazon rainforest taken from plane

During the mid-Eocene, it is believed that the drainage basin of the Amazon was split along the middle of the continent by the Purus Arch. Water on the eastern side flowed toward the Atlantic, while to the west water flowed toward the Pacific across the Amazonas Basin. As the Andes Mountains rose, however, a large basin was created that enclosed a lake; now known as the Solimões Basin. Within the last 5–10 million years, this accumulating water broke through the Purus Arch, joining the easterly flow toward the Atlantic.^[6][7]

There is evidence that there have been significant changes in Amazon rainforest vegetation over the last 21,000 years through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and subsequent deglaciation. Analyses of sediment deposits from Amazon basin paleolakes and from the Amazon Fan indicate that rainfall in the basin during the LGM was lower than for the present, and this was almost certainly associated with reduced moist tropical vegetation cover in the basin.^[8] There is debate, however, over how extensive this reduction was. Some scientists argue that the rainforest was reduced to small, isolated refugia separated by open forest and grassland;^[9] other scientists argue that the rainforest remained largely intact but extended less far to the north, south, and east than is seen today.^[10] This debate has proved difficult to resolve because the practical limitations of working in the rainforest mean that data sampling is biased away from the center of the Amazon basin, and both explanations are reasonably well supported by the available data.

Human activity[link]

Based on archaeological evidence from an excavation at Caverna da Pedra Pintada, human inhabitants first settled in the Amazon region at least 11,200 years ago.^[11] Subsequent development led to late-prehistoric settlements along the periphery of the forest by 1250 AD, which induced alterations in the forest cover.^[12] Biologists believe that a population density of 0.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (0.52 /sq mi) is the maximum that can be sustained in the rain forest through hunting, with agriculture needed to host a larger population.^[13]

For a long time, it was thought that the Amazon rainforest was sparsely populated, as it was impossible to sustain a large population through agriculture given the poor soil. Archeologist Betty J. Meggers was a prominent proponent of this idea, as described in her book Amazonia: Man and Culture in a Counterfeit Paradise. However, recent anthropological findings have suggested that the region was actually densely populated. Some 5 to 7 million people may have lived in the Amazon region, divided between dense coastal settlements, such as that at Marajó, and inland dwellers.

Since the 1970s, numerous geoglyphs have been discovered on deforested land dating between 0–1250 AD, leading to claims about Pre-Columbian civilizations.^[14][15] The BBC's Unnatural Histories presented evidence that the Amazon rainforest, rather than being a pristine wilderness, has been shaped by man for at least 11,000 years through practices such as forest gardening and terra preta.^[16]

Terra preta (black earth), which is distributed over large areas in the Amazon forest, is now widely accepted as a product of indigenous soil management. The development of this fertile soil allowed agriculture and silviculture in the previously hostile environment; meaning that large portions of the Amazon rainforest are probably the result of centuries of human management, rather than naturally occurring as has previously been supposed.^[17] In the region of the Xinguanos tribe, remains of some of these large settlements in the middle of the Amazon forest were found in 2003 by Michael Heckenberger and colleagues of the University of Florida. Among those were evidence of roads, bridges and large plazas.^[18]

The first European to travel the length of the Amazon River was Francisco de Orellana in 1542.^[19] The BBC documentary Unnatural Histories presents evidence that Francisco de Orellana, rather than exaggerating his claims as previously thought, was correct in his observations that an advanced civilization was flourishing along the Amazon in the 1540s. It is believed that the civilization was later devastated by the spread of diseases from Europe, such as smallpox.^[16]

Biodiversity[link]

Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest threatens many species of tree frogs, which are very sensitive to environmental changes (pictured: Giant leaf frog)

Scarlet Macaw, which is indigenous to the American tropics.

Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia.^[20] As the largest tract of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazonian rainforests have unparalleled biodiversity. One in ten known species in the world lives in the Amazon Rainforest.^[21] This constitutes the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world.

The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species,^[22] tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes,^[23] 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region.^[24] One in five of all the bird species in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon, and one in five of the fish species live in Amazonian rivers and streams. Scientists have described between 96,660 and 128,843 invertebrate species in Brazil alone.^[25]

The biodiversity of plant species is the highest on Earth with some experts estimating that one square kilometer (247 acres) may contain more than a thousand types of trees and thousands of species of other higher plants. According to a 2001 study, a quarter square kilometer (62 acres) of Ecuadorian rainforest supports more than 1,100 tree species.^[26]

One square kilometer (247 acres) of Amazon rainforest can contain about 90,790 tonnes of living plants. The average plant biomass is estimated at 356 ± 47 tonnes per hectare.^[27] To date, an estimated 438,000 species of plants of economic and social interest have been registered in the region with many more remaining to be discovered or catalogued.^[28]

The green leaf area of plants and trees in the rainforest varies by about 25% as a result of seasonal changes. Leaves expand during the dry season when sunlight is at a maximum, then undergo abscission in the cloudy wet season. These changes provide a balance of carbon between photosynthesis and respiration.^[29]

The rainforest contains several species that can pose a hazard. Among the largest predatory creatures are the black caiman, jaguar, cougar, and anaconda. In the river, electric eels can produce an electric shock that can stun or kill, while piranha are known to bite and injure humans.^[30] Various species of poison dart frogs secrete lipophilic alkaloid toxins through their flesh. There are also numerous parasites and disease vectors. Vampire bats dwell in the rainforest and can spread the rabies virus.^[31] Malaria, yellow fever and Dengue fever can also be contracted in the Amazon region.

Deforestation[link]

Deforestation in the Mato Grosso state of Brazil, 2007

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested areas. The main sources of deforestation in the Amazon are human settlement and development of the land.^[32] Prior to the early 1960s, access to the forest's interior was highly restricted, and the forest remained basically intact.^[33] Farms established during the 1960s were based on crop cultivation and the slash and burn method. However, the colonists were unable to manage their fields and the crops because of the loss of soil fertility and weed invasion.^[34] The soils in the Amazon are productive for just a short period of time, so farmers are constantly moving to new areas and clearing more land.^[34] These farming practices led to deforestation and caused extensive environmental damage.^[35] Deforestation is considerable, and areas cleared of forest are visible to the naked eye from outer space.

Between 1991 and 2000, the total area of forest lost in the Amazon rose from 415,000 to 587,000 square kilometres (160,000 to 227,000 sq mi), with most of the lost forest becoming pasture for cattle.^[36] Seventy percent of formerly forested land in the Amazon, and 91% of land deforested since 1970, is used for livestock pasture.^[37][38] In addition, Brazil is currently the second-largest global producer of soybeans after the United States. The needs of soy farmers have been used to validate many of the controversial transportation projects that are currently developing in the Amazon. The first two highways successfully opened up the rain forest and led to increased settlement and deforestation. The mean annual deforestation rate from 2000 to 2005 (22,392 km² or 8,646 sq mi per year) was 18% higher than in the previous five years (19,018 km² or 7,343 sq mi per year).^[39] Deforestation has declined significantly in the Brazilian Amazon since 2004.^[40]

Conservation and climate change[link]

Amazon Rainforest

Environmentalists are concerned about loss of biodiversity that will result from destruction of the forest, and also about the release of the carbon contained within the vegetation, which could accelerate global warming. Amazonian evergreen forests account for about 10% of the world's terrestrial primary productivity and 10% of the carbon stores in ecosystems^[41]—of the order of 1.1 × 10¹¹ metric tonnes of carbon.^[42] Amazonian forests are estimated to have accumulated 0.62 ± 0.37 tons of carbon per hectare per year between 1975 and 1996.^[42]

One computer model of future climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions shows that the Amazon rainforest could become unsustainable under conditions of severely reduced rainfall and increased temperatures, leading to an almost complete loss of rainforest cover in the basin by 2100.^[43][44] However, simulations of Amazon basin climate change across many different models are not consistent in their estimation of any rainfall response, ranging from weak increases to strong decreases.^[45] The result indicates that the rainforest could be threatened though the 21st century by climate change in addition to deforestation.

In 1989, environmentalist C.M. Peters and two colleagues stated there is economic as well as biological incentive to protecting the rainforest. One hectare in the Peruvian Amazon has been calculated to have a value of $6820 if intact forest is sustainably harvested for fruits, latex, and timber; $1000 if clear-cut for commercial timber (not sustainably harvested); or $148 if used as cattle pasture.^[46]

As indigenous territories continue to be destroyed by deforestation and ecocide, such as in the Peruvian Amazon^[47] indigenous peoples' rainforest communities continue to disappear, while others, like the Urarina continue to struggle to fight for their cultural survival and the fate of their forested territories. Meanwhile, the relationship between non-human primates in the subsistence and symbolism of indigenous lowland South American peoples has gained increased attention, as has ethno-biology and community-based conservation efforts.

From 2002 to 2006, the conserved land in the Amazon rainforest has almost tripled and deforestation rates have dropped up to 60%. About 1,000,000 square kilometres (250,000,000 acres) have been put onto some sort of conservation, which adds up to a current amount of 1,730,000 square kilometres (430,000,000 acres).^[48]

A 2009 study found that a 4 °C rise in global temperatures by 2100 would kill 85% of the Amazon rainforest while a temperature rise of 3 °C would kill some 75% of the Amazon.^[49]

Remote sensing[link]

This image reveals how the forest and the atmosphere interact to create a uniform layer of "popcorn-shaped" cumulus clouds.

The use of remotely sensed data is dramatically improving conservationists' knowledge of the Amazon Basin. Given the objectivity and lowered costs of satellite-based land cover analysis, it appears likely that remote sensing technology will be an integral part of assessing the extent and damage of deforestation in the basin.^[50] Furthermore, remote sensing is the best and perhaps only possible way to study the Amazon on a large-scale.^[51]

The use of remote sensing for the conservation of the Amazon is also being used by the indigenous tribes of the basin to protect their tribal lands from commercial interests. Using handheld GPS devices and programs like Google Earth, members of the Trio Tribe, who live in the rainforests of southern Suriname, map out their ancestral lands to help strengthen their territorial claims.^[52] Currently, most tribes in the Amazon do not have clearly defined boundaries, making it easier for commercial ventures to target their territories.

To accurately map the Amazon's biomass and subsequent carbon related emissions, the classification of tree growth stages within different parts of the forest is crucial. In 2006 Tatiana Kuplich organized the trees of the Amazon into four categories: (1) mature forest, (2) regenerating forest [less than three years], (3) regenerating forest [between three and five years of regrowth], and (4) regenerating forest [eleven to eighteen years of continued development].^[53] The researcher used a combination of Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and Thematic Mapper (TM) to accurately place the different portions of the Amazon into one of the four classifications.

Impact of early 21st century Amazon droughts[link]

In 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in one hundred years,^[54] and there were indications that 2006 could have been a second successive year of drought.^[55] A July 23, 2006 article in the UK newspaper The Independent reported Woods Hole Research Center results showing that the forest in its present form could survive only three years of drought.^[56][57] Scientists at the Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research argue in the article that this drought response, coupled with the effects of deforestation on regional climate, are pushing the rainforest towards a "tipping point" where it would irreversibly start to die. It concludes that the forest is on the brink of being turned into savanna or desert, with catastrophic consequences for the world's climate.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the combination of climate change and deforestation increases the drying effect of dead trees that fuels forest fires.^[58]

In 2010 the Amazon rainforest experienced another severe drought, in some ways more extreme than the 2005 drought. The affected region was approximate 1,160,000 square miles (3,000,000 km²) of rainforest, compared to 734,000 square miles (1,900,000 km²) in 2005. The 2010 drought had three epicenters where vegetation died off, whereas in 2005 the drought was focused on the southwestern part. The findings were published in the journal Science. In a typical year the Amazon absorbs 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide; during 2005 instead 5 gigatons were released and in 2010 8 gigatons were released^[59][60]

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Sheil, D.; Wunder, S. (2002). "The value of tropical forest to local communities: complications, caveats, and cautions". Conservation Ecology 6 (2): 9. http://www.consecol.org/vol6/iss2/art9. 
• "Deforestation." World Geography. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill/Glencoe, 2000. 202–204

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amazon Rainforest

• Journey Into Amazonia
• The Amazon: The World's Largest Rainforest
• WWF in the Amazon rainforest
• Amazonia.org.br Good daily updated Amazon information database on the web, held by Friends of The Earth – Brazilian Amazon.
• amazonia.org Sustainable Development in the Extractive Reserve of the Baixo Rio Branco – Rio Jauaperi – Brazilian Amazon.
• Amazon Rainforest News Original news updates on the Amazon.
• Amazon-Rainforest.org Information about the amazon rainforest, its people, places of interest, and how everyone can help.
• Conference: Climate change and the fate of the Amazon. Podcasts of talks given at Oriel College, University of Oxford, March 20–22, 2007.

Coordinates: 3°09′36″S 60°01′48″W / 3.16°S 60.03°W / -3.16; -60.03

Esperanza Spalding
Spalding performing at the Newport Jazz Festival on August 10, 2008
Background information
Born	(1984-10-18) October 18, 1984 (age 27) Portland, Oregon, US
Genres	Jazz, jazz fusion, bossa nova, neo soul
Occupations	Musician, composer, educator, bandleader
Instruments	Upright bass, bass guitar, and vocals
Years active	2000–present[1]
Labels	Heads Up International, Hush, Merge
Associated acts	Stanley Clarke, Patti Austin, and Joe Lovano
Website	www.esperanzaspalding.com

Esperanza Spalding (born October 18, 1984)^[2] is an American multi-instrumentalist best known as a jazz bassist and singer, who draws upon many genres in her own compositions. In 2011, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 53rd Grammy Awards,^[3] making her the first jazz artist to win the award.^[4][5]

Biography[link]

Early life and early education[link]

Spalding grew up in the King neighborhood of Portland, Oregon,^[6] a neighborhood she describes as "ghetto" and "pretty scary".^[7] Her mother raised her and her brother as a single parent.^[8] Spalding has a diverse ethnic background.^[7][9] Her father is African-American and her mother is of Welsh, Native American, and Hispanic descent.^[10] She also has an interest in the music of other cultures, including that of Brazil,^[11] commenting, "With Portuguese songs, the phrasing of the melody is intrinsically linked with the language, and it's beautiful."^[12]

Her mother shares Spalding's interest in music, having nearly become a touring singer herself.^[8][13] But while Spalding cites her mother as a powerful influence who encouraged her musical expansion, she attributes her inspiration for pursuing a life in music to watching classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma perform on an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood when she was four.^[8]

By the time Spalding was five, she had taught herself to play the violin and was playing with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon.^[8] Spalding stayed with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon until she was fifteen and left as concertmaster.^[8] Due to a lengthy illness when she was child, Spalding spent much of her elementary school years being homeschooled,^[8] but also attended King Elementary School in northeast Portland.^[6] During this time, she also found the opportunity to pick up instruction in music by listening to her mother's college teacher instruct her mother in guitar.^[12] According to Spalding, when she was about eight, her mother briefly studied jazz guitar in college; Spalding says, "Going with her to her class, I would sit under the piano. Then I would come home and I would be playing her stuff that her teacher had been playing."^[12] Spalding also played oboe and clarinet before discovering the bass in high school.^[8][14] She is able to sing in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.^[15]

Spalding had begun performing live in clubs in Portland, Oregon as a teenager,^[11] securing her first gig at 15 in a blues club, when she could play only one line on bass.^[16] One of the seasoned musicians with which she played that first night invited her to join the band's rehearsals "so she could actually learn something", and her rehearsals soon grew into regular performances spanning almost a year.^[16] According to Spalding, it was a chance for her to stretch as a musician, reaching and growing beyond her experience.^[12] Her early contact with these "phenomenal resources", as she calls the musicians who played with her,^[12] fostered her sense of rhythm and helped nurture her interest in her instrument.^[16] She does not consider herself a musical prodigy.^[17] "I am surrounded by prodigies everywhere I go, but because they are a little older than me, or not a female, or not on a major label, they are not acknowledged as such", says Spalding.^[17]

Spalding had intended to play cello,^[12] but discovered the bass during a one-year stint at age 14 at the prestigious performing arts high school, The Northwest Academy, to which she had won a scholarship.^[16][18] The school was not a good fit, but the bass was.^[16] Spalding found high school "easy—and boring" and dropped out. When she was 15 or 16 years old, Spalding started writing lyrics for music for the local indie rock/pop group Noise for Pretend, touching on any topic that came to mind.^[17] Although she had taken a few private voice lessons, which taught her how to protect her voice, her primary singing experience had come from "singing in the shower", she said,^[17] before she started performing vocals for Noise for Pretend.^[12] Her desire to perform live evolved naturally out of the compositional process, when she would sing and play simultaneously to see how melody and voice fit together, but she acknowledges that performing both roles can be challenging.^[12][19] In a 2008 interview, she said, "[W]hat can be difficult is being a singer, in the sense that you are engaged with the audience, and really responsible for emoting, and getting into the lyrics, melody, etc., and being an effective bassist/band leader".^[19]

Spalding left high school at 16 and, after completing her GED, enrolled on a music scholarship in the music program at Portland State University, where she remembers being "the youngest bass player in the program".^[8] Although she lacked the training of her fellow students, she feels that her teachers nevertheless recognized her talent.^[8] She decided to instead apply to Berklee College of Music on the encouragement of her bass teacher, and did well enough in her audition to receive a full scholarship.^[13][16] In spite of the scholarship, Spalding found it a challenge meeting living expenses, so her friends arranged a benefit concert that paid her airfare and a little extra.^[12][16] Spalding's savings did not last long. Broke and exhausted,^[20] she considered leaving music and entering political science,^[13] a move jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny discouraged, telling Spalding she had "the 'X Factor'" and could make it if she applied herself.^[13] During her time at Berklee, her primary bass instructor was John Lockwood.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2004–07: Musical beginnings, teaching and Junjo

Spalding performing at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy on July 12, 2007

Gary Burton, Executive Vice President at Berklee, said in 2004 that Spalding had "a great time feel, she can confidently read the most complicated compositions, and she communicates her upbeat personality in everything she plays".^[16] Ben Ratliff wrote in The New York Times on July 9, 2006, that Spalding's voice is "light and high, up in Blossom Dearie's pitch range, and [that] she can sing quietly, almost in a daydream" and that Spalding "invents her own feminine space, a different sound from top to bottom."^[21] Spalding was the 2005 recipient of the Boston Jazz Society scholarship for outstanding musicianship.^[8] Almost immediately after graduation from college later the same year, Spalding was hired by Berklee College of Music, becoming one of the youngest instructors in the institution's history,^[12] at age 20.^[22] As a teacher, Spalding tries to help her students focus their practice through a practice journal, which can help them recognize their strengths and what they need to pursue.^[12]

Her debut album Junjo was released on April 18, 2006, on the Ayva Music label.^[23][24] It was created to display the dynamic that she felt among her trio.^[17] Though Junjo was released solely under her name, Spalding considers it "a collaborative effort".^[12]

[edit] 2008–10: Esperanza

Spalding performing on December 10, 2009 at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert of 2009

When asked in 2008 why she plays the bass instead of some other instrument, Spalding said that it wasn't a choice, but the bass "had its own arc" and resonated with her.^[17] Spalding says that for her discovering the bass was like "waking up one day and realizing you're in love with a co-worker."^[12] By the time she randomly picked up the bass in music class and began experimenting with it, she had grown bored with her other instruments.^[16][25] Her band teacher showed her a blues line for the bass that she later used to secure her first gig.^[16] After that, she went in to play the bass daily and gradually fell in love.^[12]

Ratliff wrote in The New York Times again, two years later, on May 26, 2008 that one of Spalding's central gifts is "a light, fizzy, optimistic drive that's in her melodic bass playing and her elastic, small-voiced singing" but that "the music is missing a crucial measure of modesty."^[26] He added, "It's an attempt at bringing this crisscrossing [of Stevie Wonder and Wayne Shorter] to a new level of definition and power, but its vamps and grooves are a little obvious, and it pushes her first as a singer-songwriter, which isn't her primary strength."^[26] Pat Metheny said in 2008 it was immediately obvious "that she had a lot to say and was also unlike any musician I had ever run across before. Her unique quality is something that goes beyond her pretty amazing musical skills; She has that rare 'x' factor of being able to transmit a certain personal kind of vision and energy that is all her own."^[20] Andrés Quinteros wrote in the Argentinian periodical, 26Noticias on October 28, 2008 that Spalding is one of the greatest new talents on the jazz scene today.^[27] Patti Austin hired Spalding to tour with her internationally after Spalding's first semester at Berklee,^[16] where Spalding supported the singer on the Ella Fitzgerald tribute tour "For Ella".^[12] In 2008, Spalding recalled the tour as educational, helping her learn to accompany a vocalist and also how to sustain energy and interest playing the same material nightly.^[12] She continued to perform with Austin periodically for three years.^[12] During the same period, while at Berklee, Spalding studied under saxophonist Joe Lovano before eventually touring with him.^[12] They began as a trio, expanding into a quartet before joining quintet US5 and traveling across the United States from New York to California.^[12] As of 2008, she was also in the process of developing several courses for students at Berklee, including one that focuses "on transcribing as a tool for learning harmony and theory."^[12] Due to touring commitments, Spalding stopped giving classes at Berklee. She lives in New York and Austin, Texas.

Spalding performing at the Northsea Jazz Festival, 2009

Esperanza is Spalding's second studio album. Being exposed to many different cultural impressions while growing up, Spalding sings in three different languages, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.^[28] After Spalding's Grammy win in February 2011, the album entered the Billboard 200 at 138. With Esperanza, Spalding's material was meant to be more reflective of herself as an artist, with musicians selected to best present that material.^[17] Ed Morales wrote in PopMatters on June 23, 2008 that Esperanza is "a sprawling collage of jazz fusion, Brazilian and even a touch of hip-hop".^[29] Siddhartha Mitter wrote in The Boston Globe on May 23, 2008 that "the big change" in Esperanza "is the singing..... This makes it a much more accessible album, and in some ways more conventional".^[30]

On December 10, at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies, Spalding performed at Oslo City Hall in honor of the 2009 Laureate President Barack Obama and again at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert the following day. She was personally selected by Obama, as per the tradition of one laureate-invited-artist to perform.^[31] Spalding also was the featured final act for the opening night of the 2009 Park City Jazz Festival in Park City, Utah, one of the top jazz festivals in the country. She closed the show with a number along with bass artists Brian Bromberg and Sean O'Bryan Smith, who also performed earlier that day.^[32] As a tribute to Prince, Spalding was invited to sing along with Patti LaBelle, Alicia Keys, and Janelle Monáe. Spalding performed the 1987 hit single "If I Was Your Girlfriend".^[31][33] On February 7, 2010, Spalding became the most searched person and second most searched item on Google as a result of her appearance the previous evening on the PBS television program Austin City Limits.^[34][35]

[edit] 2011–present: Chamber Music Society and Radio Music Society

In February 2011, at the 53rd Grammy Awards, Spalding won the "Best New Artist" award.^[36] In November 2011, Spalding won "Jazz Artist of the Year" at the Boston Music Awards.^[37] Spalding collaborated with Tineke Postma on the track "Leave Me A Place Underground" from the album The Dawn Of Light in 2011.^[38] She also collaborated with Terri Lyne Carrington on the album The Mosaic Project where she features on the track "Crayola".^[39] Spalding sings a duet with Nicholas Payton on the track "Freesia" from the album Bitches in 2011.^{[40] [41]} Her next project was an album titled Radio Music Society, which she hoped would showcase jazz musicians in an accessible manner suitable for mainstream radio.^[36] With Radio Music Society, she hoped to incorporate her own musical compositions with covers of such artists as the Beach Boys and Wayne Shorter. She also plans to record an album with Milton Nascimento in the future.^[42]

Chamber Music Society was the third album by Spalding. After her surprise Grammy win, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 at number 34 with sales of 18,000.^[43] A video was made for the song "Little Fly".^[44] The song is a poem by William Blake set to music by Spalding. A vinyl version of the album was released in February 2011. This version of the album included a bonus track titled "Morning" that will be included in the tracklist of her upcoming Radio Music Society album.^[45] Chamber Music Society, inspiration from her earlier days as a concertmaster is apparent in her fusion of three-piece string ensemble with piano, keyboards, drums and percussion. As Patrick Jarenwattananon wrote for NPR Music, "the finished product certainly exudes a level of sophisticated intimacy, as if best experienced with a small gathering in a quiet, wood-paneled room."^[46] Spalding was the best-selling contemporary jazz artist, and her album Chamber Music Society was the best-selling contemporary jazz album, of 2011.^[47]

On February 26, 2012, Spalding performed at the 84th Academy Awards, singing the Louis Armstrong standard, "What a Wonderful World", alongside the Southern California Children's Chorus to accompany the video montage that celebrated the film industry greats who passed away in 2011 and early 2012.^[48] Radio Music Society is Spalding's fourth studio album, released by record label Heads Up International on March 20, 2012.^[49][50][51] Spalding appeared on Later... with Jools Holland.^[52]

Artistry[link]

Influences and attitude toward music and jazz[link]

Spalding alternates between upright bass...		and bass guitar in her performances

Spalding cites jazz bassists Ron Carter and Dave Holland as important influences on her music; Carter for the "orchestration" of his playing and Holland for the way his compositional method complements his personal style.^[53] She has described the saxophone player Wayne Shorter,^[13] and singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento, as heroes.^[54] She has also noted her preference for the music of Brazil.^[13]

Spalding says she loves fusion music and was influenced by a "wonderful arc that started 40 years ago where people kept incorporating modern sounds into their music."^[29] She has expressed concerns that jazz has wandered from its roots, suggesting that jazz has lost its street value and its relevance to "the Black experience to the Black Diaspora and beyond" now that has been co-opted by the "seasoned 'art' community".^[7] She notes that in its early days, jazz was "popular dance music" and "the music of young people who considered themselves awfully hip", and believes "hip-hop, or neo-soul [...] is our 'jazz' now as far as the role these genres play in the music genre lineage".^[7] Spalding, who has expressed a desire to be judged for her musicianship rather than her sex appeal, believes that female musicians must take responsibility to avoid oversexualizing themselves.^[29][13] and that in order to write original music, one must read and stay informed about the world.^[13] She has said she models her career on those of Madonna and Ornette Coleman.^[12]

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

Music videos[link]

Collaborative albums[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Murphy, Sarah, "Student Profile: Esperanza Spalding", Berklee College of Music, April 2004
• Colapinto, John (March 15, 2010). "Profiles: New Note". The New Yorker 86 (4): 32–39. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Esperanza Spalding

• Official website
• Esperanza Spalding interview for OnTheGig.com
• Interview for allaboutjazz.com
• Who is Esperanza Spalding and how did she beat Justin Bieber? interview for Billboard.com
• VIDEO: Performance and interview at The Roots Picnic (2011)