Credit: Holly Andres
Jazz singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding released her debut, Junjo, in 2006, and the album quickly established her as a rising star. A favorite of President Obama, who asked her to play at his Nobel Peace Prize concert in 2009, she surprised everyone when she won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 2011. The award-winning album, 2010’s Chamber Music Society, featured gorgeous ballads and gentle jazz tunes.

Now, Spalding has announced a fall tour of North and South America set to kick off August 13 at the Richmond Jazz Festival in Richmond. She performs at Kent Stage on Oct. 23.

The tour follows sold out performances across South Korea, Japan, Australia, Europe and North America. Released earlier this year, Spalding’s latest album, Emily’s D+Evolution, was voted one of the best albums of 2016 (so far) by NPR, Rolling Stone, Time, L.A. Times, Boston Globe, Paste and New York magazine’s Vulture.com.

This article appears in Aug 10-16, 2016.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.