Esperanza Spalding Concert at the Banff Centre

One of my favourite jazz artists right now is Esperanza Spalding. If you have never heard of her or have never heard her, check out her youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb3MC_Hob44&list=RD022aRC3YY3svs) for some live performances and you will be blown away. Last week she was working with the students at the Banff Centre and gave a few concerts with her trio. I was lucky enough to see her Friday night concert in the basement of the Banff Centre, in a tiny venue called The Club. The place was packed full of students and faculty and other jazz lovers like myself who were lucky enough to know that the concert was taking place. My friends and I sat right in the front row, dead centre, about three feet away from Esperanza on stage. Sitting so close, I not only got an incredible acoustic experience, but I could see every glance between her and her pianist, every smile at a great chord and even watch her feet dancing to her own tunes. The music was amazing, I was blown away by the groove of her trio, how fast her fingers could get around the bass, and her beautiful singing! 

What struck me the most though was how into it she was. I have never seen anyone so lost in their own musical world and enjoying every second of it. I felt like I was witnessing a private rehearsal with her group, each member experimenting and trying something new and Esperanza loved all of it. It was a series of completely natural, authentic and organic moments and all three of them were having so much fun! I was almost surprised when she spoke to the audience at the end, I had forgotten the rest of us were there. 

The other amazing thing about this concert is that it was FREE! If I was able to go see her concert in Calgary when she is here (June 26th at the Epcor Centre) I would pay between $40-70 for a ticket (would still be 100% worth it by the way) and would never experience something as intimate as Friday night at the Banff Centre. One of the most amazing reasons to live in Calgary is we have all these incredible, internationally renowned musicians working and studying only an hour and a half away, performing and giving concerts all the time at the Banff Centre. Not all the concerts are free, but a lot of the student performances are and if you've ever tried to get accepted to study at the Banff Centre, you know you have to be very VERY good in order to go. 

Check out their website regularly to see who is performing this week and definitely make the trek up there to see some amazing concerts!