KWLC review: Summer albums hit mark

A summer filled with incredible releases has come to an end. The staff at KWLC Radio is proud to bring you reviews of two of our favorites from the past four months.

Esperanza Spalding – Esperanza

In what is still primarily a man’s world, a shining new star has appeared on the jazz stage. With her string bass, 23-year-old Esperanza Spalding brings an incredibly fresh style to the ever-emerging world of jazz music. Why is she so special? For Esperanza, the bass is only the beginning.

As on her first album, “Junjo,” Spalding angelically croons over her combo while simultaneously laying down complex and syncopated bass lines. She expertly marries Latin flairs in her music to vocals that are cohesive with the American jazz tradition.

The album was released on the Heads Up record label in late May, and by early June it was atop the College Music Journal’s (CMJ) Jazz Charts.

It features nine original compositions and three standards, the best of which is titled “Cuerpo Y Alma” (Body and Soul). She highlights her arranging skills by turning this standard into a rolling 5/4 melody that features her impeccable range and leadership in the combo.

The album also includes a version of “Ponta de Areia” by Milton Nascimento and Fernando Brant. These men were two of the most prominent Brazilian composers in the late 1960s and Spalding captures their South-American vibe.

Her best composition on the album is a slow, hard-grooving song called “Espera.” Also featured on the album: Otis Brown, Leo Genovese, Ricardo Vogt and Lyndon Rochelle. Esperanza Spalding is currently the bassist in the Joe Lovano Quintet.

- Pete Russella, Station Manager

Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Another big release from this last summer was Death Cab for Cutie’s second album on Atlantic Records. With a somewhat melancholy feel, Narrow Stairs was a strong and dark album. This album had little resemblance to its emotionally hopeful predecessor, Plans.

Plunging into the album, one will rapidly find that it seems to revolve around depressing truths. The song “You Can Do Better Than Me” portrays a person unable to leave a troubled relationship, ending the song with, “You can do better than me, but I can’t do better than you.” The listener is left to sit and contemplate.

Death Cab had a good sound here. More of a depressed Elliot Smith sound, but a good sound.

- Trevor “Turkish” Ruwitch, Hip-Hop DJ