ALBUM OF THE WEEK A: ESPERANZA SPALDING: ESPERANZAI heart this 24 year old Portland native so much!!! She's an acoustic double bass phenom, composer, arranger, vocalist, band leader and the youngest Berklee College of Music faculty member since Pat Metheney taught there at 19. She's 24 people, 24 and already so polyvalent!!! This is her 2nd full-length album as a bandleader. The fantastic Junjo was her first album (pick up that album. too--it's slightly more traditional and straight-ahead than the new one, but you won't be disappointed). This self-titled new offering is equal parts jazz, funk and pop imbued with her trademark latin sensibility. Esperanza would be amazing if all she did was play bass here, but she also sings beautifully in English, Spanish & Portuguese while simultaneously laying down the low end. Anyone who plays bass even a little knows that it's truly challenging to play bass and sing well at the same time: vocal lines and bass lines are usually contrapuntal. Most singing bass players dumbdown what would usually be more complicated and more heavily syncopated bass playing in order to sing along or we tread lightly and self-censor on the vocal riffing so as to not get off track with our bass lines. Esperanza keeps both the vocal and the bass work intricate and challenging. As a sometimes singing bassist myself, my hat goes off to her for never taking the easy route when trying to blend the two skills. She also writes the lionsshare of the compositions (lyrics and music) that make her albums, but she always includes a few re-imagined jazz standards as well. Her own writing is sophisticated and mature without losing any of its youthful energy and whimsy. Too, she's never afraid of stylistic cross-pollination. Her original compositions Precious, I Adore You and Fall In are standouts, but it's her reworking of jazz stapleBody and Soul as the Spanish Cuerpo y Alma that is truly sublime. I can't say enough about this artist and this album, except I can't wait 'til she drops the next one. I haven't been this excited about an artist since my ridiculously gifted music-making friend, AnOmali, introduced me to the 8th Wonder of the World that is Frank McComb. Ahhhh...life is so good when people are out there making such exceptional music!!!!
CHECK OUT ESPERANZA LIVE ON UPRIGHT BASS
ESPERANZA LIVE KILLING ON A MORE TRADITION ACOUSTIC ELECTRIC BASS
ALBUM OF THE WEEK B: LETTUCE: RAGE A super group (including members of Soulive) of young funk jam bander weaned on hip-hop and 60's and 70's soul and funk a la James Brown, War, Mandrill and the like. Bassist Erick Coomes is a beast as is Soulive's Neal Evans on keys. I can't stop playing this album!!!
Thank you to my girls (Bam Bam, Shamayara, Dillon, Lena and Simmons) for coming to LBSC this past Sunday and jamming with me. I had a ball, the music was killin' and the vibe was all love!!!! I adore all of you.
The first new song I've written for 2008, called TRY, is up in the MUSICPLAYER.
black.womyn.:conversationsis a new documentary featuring conversations with black lesbians about sexuality, family, religion, relationships and homophobia, among other topics. My long-time sista-friend and Philly documentarian Aishah S. Simmons and her partner, singer-songwriter Monica Dillon are featured in the film.
New entry up in the QUEER FUNK diaries. READ SITA'S BIO, then read ENTRY # 2: SITA ...Like I don't have enough to keep my days busy as all get out.
POETRY CORNER is bursting at the seams. Thanks for all of the constructive feedback.
Those previously hard to find BOOKS OF THE MONTH review blurbs. If you think that there's something with a queer (lesbian especially) focus that I should be reading, HOLLA
New entry up in the QUEER FUNK diaries. 
=WORTH SEEING