Nr. 14 – Esperanza Spalding

Yet another star born in the golden year of 1984. Esperanza Spalding started playing the bass at an early age and proved to be a natural. At the age of 20 she was hired by Berklee Collage of Music (from where she graduated a year earlier), becoming one of the youngest professors in the history of the institution. When president Obama was chosen as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Esperanza Spalding was his choice for the concert. Obviously she had made an impression when playing a tribute for Stevie Wonder in the White House. On this young talent I could write pages on why she’s cool. First of all, how on earth can she sing, play the bass and smile like that at the same time??? And don’t forget the fact that she plays and sings JAZZ! (It’s not exactly as when Flea plays Pea. Not to underestimate Flea as a bass player, it was just the first song I came to think of to compare with.) Secondly, she was hired to TEACH bass at the age of 20(!?) at Berklee(!). Plus she’s just cool. She just is. Look at her.