This fantastic live concert footage is from the Verucchio Festival in Rimini Italy, where Esperanza Spalding and her project known as Radio Music Society performed the song from Michael Jackson's Off The Wall album titled "I Can't Help It". The song, originally written by Stevie Wonder and Susaye Greene-Browne, is one more deep jazz take by Spalding as she be-bops & scats a 3 minute intro trading with Tia Fuller on sax before breaking into the song with Spalding's angelic voice while simultaneously laying down some very tasty & funky bass lines while backed by an incredible band. This is that "it" thing all around... inspired giftedness at it's finest!
You may have already seen her on The Late Show with David Letterman and she has been in thousands of places between here and there, even playing for heads of state and President Obama. But in this big bad world, artists who travel that wide can still remain too far under the radar. This is just one more little venue for this inspired and gifted jazz bassist and vocalist.
Esperanza Spalding is a breath of fresh air. As a bassist myself, I appreciate any upright players who can sing and play upright at the same time. Esperanza is as sweet and beautiful as she is articulate with her vocals and jazz stylings, as you will see in this local CBS TV interview and performance on a show called The Second Cup Café. Enjoy!
