Austinist Notes: Esperanza Spalding and Madeleine Peyroux @ Austin City Limits

Tuesday night at the KLRU studios saw the Austin City Limits debuts of Esperanza Spalding and Madeleine Peyroux. These two strong and distinct female voices both pulled off gorgeous and evocative performances worthy of the show. However, one out-shined the other.

The back-to-back tapings began with Spalding, a vibrant, young bass player/jazz vocalist, and it was likely the thinking of the producers was to begin with someone fresh and entertaining and end with a more seasoned voice on a strong note. But, what they found is that after their first performer, Spalding, the bar was set way too high, and the night tapered off from there.

In her Billie Holiday-like classic vocal style Peyroux sang songs she penned such as “Don’t Wait Too Long” as well as songs by Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. It was pleasant and her piano player was a sight to behold, but the set seemed to lack a lot of the energy felt throughout recordings like Careless Love. There should have been more songs like the charming French number she sang with the members of her band gathered in tightly on accordion, mandolin, stand up bass and brushed snare and she told us to imagine we were on the streets of Paris. Instead, the rest of her set came off as kind of nervous and not all on the same page.

The star of the evening was quite clearly Esperanza Spalding. She charmed everyone with her jokes and ease between songs as well as her charismatic and deftly executed performances. The spirit of jazz is alive and well in this talented, untamed Berklee College of Music student-turned-professor. She made short work of her bass on songs like Wayne Shorter’s “Endangered Species” as her hands tumbled up and down the fretboard which reached well above her head. Blue shafts of light illuminated each of the four players on stage as Spalding sang out with her eyes closed in the hazy studio set against the Austin cityscape. Her voice darted around just as much as her hands, high then low and all points in between. Her version of “Wild as the wind” popularized by Nina Simone proved her skill with the bow as well. The song was haunting and sophisticated with the hum of the bass and tones of the melodica. She even sang a sweet Portuguese harmony. The crowd couldn’t get enough of her, and with good reason. She’s no doubt going to be one of the bright faces in the future of jazz.

Esperanza Spalding [Official]
Esperanza Spalding [MySpace]
Madeleine Peyroux [Official]
Madeleine Peyroux [MySpace]