Esperanza Spalding: Radio Music Society Tour Coming to UB April 18

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Esperanza Spalding: Radio Music Society Tour on Wednesday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre, Center for the Arts, UB North Campus. The performance is sponsored in part by Monaco's Violin Shop & Music Center and A Best.

If "esperanza" is the Spanish word for hope, the bassist, vocalist and composer Esperanza Spalding could not have been given a more fitting name at birth. Blessed with uncanny instrumental chops, a multi-lingual voice that is part angel and part siren and a natural beauty that borders on the hypnotic, the prodigy-turned-pro might well be the hope for the future of jazz and instrumental music.

Listeners familiar with her stunning 2008 debut, Esperanza, which spent 70 weeks at the top of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart, are well aware that Spalding's unique, style-spanning presence was worth recognition. After the release of her second album, 2010's Chamber Music Society, that judgment was confirmed as Spalding became the first jazz musician to receive the GRAMMY Award for Best New Artist.

Spalding's latest release, Radio Music Society is her most diverse, ambitious and masterful offering yet. All 11 songs are accompanied by conceptual short films, which further express Esperanza's inspiration and story behind each track. About Esperanza Spalding, NPR said, "[She's] cheery and earnest in an endearing way... And it's hard to begrudge that sort of happiness." About Radio Music Society, The Arts Desk said, "It brilliantly imitates the experience of searching through the radio frequencies until a killer hook suddenly leaps out at you -- this vibrantly colored musical collage is quite unlike anything else you've ever heard."

Tickets for Esperanza Spalding are $42, $37, $27 general admission, and $38 for groups. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For more information, call 716-645-2787.