Artist Esperanza Spalding

Considered a prodigy just a few months after picking up the double bass at 15, Esperanza Spalding escaped the cloyingly precocious stage by attending Portland State at 16, transferring to Berklee, graduating in three years, and accepting a teaching job in 2005. But the maturity and complexity of her eerie third album, 2010’sChamber Music Society, suggests nary a hint of childishness—and it put her in odd company with Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, and Amy Winehouse when it won her an unexpected Best New Artist Grammy, the first one ever awarded to a jazz musician. As with most follow-ups to acclaimed breakout albums, Spalding’s new album is chock-full of guests and ambition, evidenced by the update in its title, Radio Music Society. Produced by Q-Tip, Radio stretches Spalding’s chilling jazz landscape to include traces of pop, funk, and soul.

Updated 04/24/2012