The tempo is rising for Esperanza Spalding.
In the decade since she became a Trust for Public Land supporter, Spalding has released a top-ten album, performed for the president, and won four Grammy Awards—including Best New Artist. Her infusion of jazz with everything from gospel and funk to Portuguese ballads has hit the sweet spot between critical acclaim and popular appeal.
A longtime advocate for city parks, Spalding turns to the natural world as a source of inspiration for the artful, buoyant compositions that have brought her success— and as a place of respite from the pressure that comes with it. She met us at her favorite spot in New York City’s Prospect Park to share why these green retreats are more important to her now than ever.
But as an adult in New York, now you have to actively seek those places out. Right, like here in Prospect Park. There’s a spot close to my house where you can look out across the lake, and the way the trees are, you can’t see any buildings. It’s one of the few places that you can’t tell that you’re in the middle of this intensely dense, bustling, crazy urban mecca. There have been many times in the midst of an intense project—like when I was writing a libretto, I’d be stuck in my house working for hours and I’d just hit a wall—and I would come here and just sit. It’s like a reset button.
That must be especially important—and especially challenging—as a professional artist. How do you man- age on the road? Traveling, sometimes it feels like all I see is airports, vans, hotels, and venues. I reach a limit where I haven’t been outside and I have to hunt down a park. I’ll find them and go to them—even if it’s just five minutes or ten min- utes—and it’s crucial for my well-being. For me, having a green place to spend time in is as crucial as having a bed to rest in. My body and my brain need it as much as they need sleep.
Imagery from nature features in many of your lyrics. Was the outdoors always a big part of your life? As a child in Oregon I was surrounded by lush, vibrant, pristine, and protected open space. Even the city neighbor- hood where I grew up was so verdant: on my block, from the edges of the sidewalk to people’s yards, whether they were kept or unkempt, everything was very green and alive. My mom taught me to be conscious of the beauty of nature in the city. She took the time to observe changes in nature, things like crocuses coming up in the spring. Wherever we went, we’d choose the “green” route: if we were headed to the bus stop, we would go a little out of our way to walk through the park—which in Portland isn’t a big deal, because there are parks everywhere. I feel like my whole life in that city was an exploration of green spaces, so until I left I assumed the whole world was like that!
Why do you think that is? I think an investment of time spent in nature is an invest- ment in your health. I don’t know why that’s medically true or scientifically true, but I experience it regularly: visiting a park relieves stress. And it’s important to know that you can find relief that simply, without a prescription. You can feel more relaxed, you can think clearer, and all the stuff that was buzzing around in your head—you can have a mo- ment of respite from that just by going to the park. If you learn that early on, you can use it your whole life.
How does nature influence your music? The music of nature is the root of manmade music. All of these “rules” of composition—about balance and move- ment and resonance, and when something sounds like it’s well organized—all these overarching themes that musi- cians work with are present organically in nature, in the sounds you hear, and in landscapes themselves. Even the melodies that these birds were singing just now—man, that’s hip! That’s way cooler than any old melody I could write, you know? I think artists are trying to express their ideas in a way that’s similar to the sounds of nature: to create something
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