I write at the piano, so I write things that fit comfortably under my hands, and I’m not thinking in terms of any specific compositional methods. I’m just seeking sounds. – Esperanza Spalding
I just think music is so intrinsically linked with images in the culture that we live in that you’ll be hard-pressed to have an experience with the music without a preconceived notion. – Esperanza Spalding
It’s a pity that if someone who has a really profoundly potent art to share chooses not to or doesn’t fit into this very thin slice of what’s desirable and marketable, chances are the public will never get a chance to hear what they’re doing. – Esperanza Spalding
Jazz has always been a melting pot of influences and I plan to incorporate them all. – Esperanza Spalding
I grew up with an incredibly loving and supportive family that gave me the impression there were a lot of options for me out there. – Esperanza Spalding
There’s nothing wrong with struggle. Anytime I look back at a difficult phase of my life and see what grew out of it – the creative survival tactics – I think that the good is way better than the bad. – Esperanza Spalding
If you don’t already know about jazz music, how would you be exposed? How would get an opportunity to find out if it spoke to you? If you get exposed to it enough, you might find a taste for it. – Esperanza Spalding
I think there’s so much negative influence on children in school settings. It becomes learning by rote to pass a test. It’s not contextualized. – Esperanza Spalding
Genre boundaries are good for marketing but they all but disappear when you’re a player. – Esperanza Spalding
I don’t think it’s about playing and singing, to be honest. That seems like old news, you know? I wasn’t thinking about that. I just think that’s in my body now. Dancers don’t think about their legs moving one way and their arms moving another. Over time, you incorporate that into your instrument. – Esperanza Spalding
For what I can imagine and feel and think and hear, I can hardly do anything on the acoustic bass. It used to be just pure frustration of imagining so much more and being able to get to a certain level of execution. – Esperanza Spalding
The benefit of the radio is, something beyond your realm of knowledge can surprise you, can enter your realm of knowledge. – Esperanza Spalding
On nights that I’m feeling a need to stretch personally and artistically, I tend to put together outfits that are very quirky, mismatched and over-the-top eclectic. – Esperanza Spalding
My earliest attempts at writing were when I was seven. I would sit at the piano and transcribe the songs I heard on the radio. I’d change little things in the music and write different lyrics. – Esperanza Spalding
There’s enough time in the day: If you go to bed at 10 and start your day at 6, there’s a lot you can do in a day! – Esperanza Spalding
Anything I do has to have integrity, so if you just want to make music, it’s not difficult finding support. The hard part for a publicist or manager is making a star. – Esperanza Spalding
I love people, and I love to be with people and to make music with people, but my natural state is to revert back to being by myself in my house, which is cool because that’s where I practice and write and listen and study. – Esperanza Spalding
You don’t have to be fearless to do anything; you can be scared out of your mind. I fear that I won’t get better and that I won’t have time to practice. To be called a ‘jazz musician’ – it’s a big responsibility. – Esperanza Spalding
I always say that the problem with jazz accessibility is not the content of the music, it’s people’s ability to access it. – Esperanza Spalding
You can grow up with literally nothing and you don’t suffer if you know you’re loved and valued. – Esperanza Spalding
I don’t watch TV, I don’t spend time on the Internet, and I don’t party much. I don’t text very much, either. – Esperanza Spalding
I like to read, and I like dance. I don’t dance, but I like to see other people dance. – Esperanza Spalding
There is an assumption that if you’re young and pretty, you will get all these opportunities that are way beyond your musical foundation. – Esperanza Spalding
