Esperanza Spalding "Radio Music Society"

Either the last record was too complex to comprehend or just too enriching to enjoy. Maybe Ms. Spalding had tried too hard to make a record of note, oh, and if you are ignorant enough to assume I am implying she has no talent I will laugh in your face! Her last record was said to push boundries, but I think this record pushed them farther. Simply because a key component in Jazz is improvisation, and while I have absolutely no problem with improv, it was used as a crutch. For a genre of music with no boundaries it seemed to be limited. This record that component is more subtle, focusing on song structure and creating engaging compositions that still defy convention. Is “Radio Song” able to give you a glimpse into her new sound? To excite, inspire curiousity, and describe motive for playing great music (even if radio stations have been known to overplay songs)? “Yes, this song's the one.” The “Cinnamon Tree” has to be one of my favorite flora known to connoisseurs of beautiful music and beautiful sights.                
       Even though we are told we live in the “Land of the Free,” there are certain circumstances that question how free we are. Rules are absolutely necessary, but society has a habit of patronizing those who mean no harm, but are different. This track may be less than two minutes, but says more than some of her longer songs, and that is meant in the best way possible. The percussive hi hat, subtle bass, light horns, and even though “Life sometimes is cold and cruel” it is plausible to procure some “Black Gold.”  Joe Lovano joins Spalding in this funky jazz workout, “I Can’t Help It,” but this is one of my favorites; either because of the bass of the chorus or its sensation of escalating percussion. I prefer to let go, but this song has a “Hold On Me;” almost like the love Esperanza holds on to for her unnamed paramour as she states “For in the night time silent I recite thousands of poems about you/Until one of them comes true.” Songs like this are an “Endangered Species,” but the only question is what kind of animal would this song be? Could it be a Siberian tiger? Tigers have been said to change their stripes, and a Chameleon is too cliché.  After walking through a “City of Roses,” who wouldn’t “Smile Like That?” The former recalls some Stevie Wonder funk, and the latter indirectly mentions the universal truth; how we tend to have feelings for someone who does not always feel the same way. My Favorites: Radio Song, Cinnamon Tree, Land of the Free, I Can’t Help It, Hold On Me, Endangered Species, and City of Roses