Album
12 Little Spells
2018 · Jazz, Funk / Soul
3 collectors on Gatefold own this
12 Little Spells is a Jazz album by Esperanza Spalding, originally released in 2018. On Gatefold: 10 pressings tracked, owned by 3 collectors.
About
Bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding is in many ways a conceptual artist: Her 2016 record <i>Emily's D+Evolution</i>, for instance, was a feature for her alter ego, while 2018’s <i>12 Little Spells</i>, her seventh LP, follows in that spirit. Each of its tracks (and their attendant scope-expanding videos) is like an incantation dedicated to a different body part. This deluxe edition of the album actually offers 16 spells; blood, hair, joints, and shoulders have also been accounted for now. While Spalding is a talented soloist, overall <i>12 Little Spells</i> is hardly a platform to showcase that side of her. The wild shapes of Spalding’s melodies, and the way they sound against the sand-and-glass chords of Matthew Stevens’ guitar, are like nothing else being done in music. The subtle funky twists in her song forms—the harmonic utter strangeness and post-tonality of “To Tide Us Over,” “The Longing Deep Down,” and “Now Know”—underline her ability to bring highly complex ideas into an easily accessible groove-driven setting (with help from ace drummer Justin Tyson). The album’s "spells" conceit stems from Spalding’s interest in music therapy, which she’s pursuing on a formal academic level, with an eye toward social justice applications (on “Dancing the Animal” she sings, “Google ‘humanity,' but while you do/Guard the animal in you”). But as she said in an interview with The Daily Beast, “You can go as far with me as you want or just enjoy it as some dope music.”
via Apple Music
The Clerk says
The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.
Tracklist
- 112 Little Spells (Thoracic Spine)4:53
- 2To Tide Us over (Mouth)4:53
- 3'Til the Next (Eyes)4:17
- 4Thang (Hips)4:35
- 5Touch in Mine (Fingers)4:53
- 6The Longing Deep Down (Abdominal Portal)4:35
- 7You Have to Dance (Feet)3:27
- 8Now Know (Solar Portal)4:26
- 9All Limbs Are (Arms)3:36
- 10Readying to Rise (Legs)5:07
- 11Dancing the Animal (Mind)5:07
- 12With Others (Ears)5:52
- 13Lest We Forget (Blood)5:16
- 14How To (Hair)3:54
- 15Move Many (Joints)2:55
- 16Ways Together3:45
Sound DNA
- Jazz
- Avant-Garde & Free Jazz
- layered
- whimsical
- art school
Credits
The people behind it.
Performers
- Aaron BurnettSAXOPHONE
- Burniss Earl Travis IIELECTRIC BASS, ACOUSTIC BASS, VOCALS
- Corey KingVOCALS
- Edmar ColónORCHESTRATED BY
- Esperanza SpaldingVOCALS, PIANO, ELECTRIC ORGAN, ELECTRIC BASS, BASS DRUM VOCALS, PIANO, ORGAN, ELECTRIC BASS, BASS DRUM VOCALS, PIANO
- Justin TysonDRUMS, ELECTRIC ORGAN, SYNTH, VOCALS, BEATS, DRUM PROGRAMMING DRUMS, ORGAN, SYNTH, VOCALS, BEATS DRUMS, ORGAN, SYNTH, VOCALS, BEATS, DRUM PROGRAMMING
- Matthew StevensGUITAR, ELECTRIC BASS GUITAR, ELECTRIC BASS, VOCALS VOCALS
- Rob SchwimmerSYNTHESIZER
- Brandon RidenourMUSICIAN , TRUMPET ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA, TRUMPET
- Eric ReedFRENCH HORN, ORCHESTRA MUSICIAN , FRENCH HORN ORCHESTRA
- John BlevinsMUSICIAN , TRUMPET ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA, TRUMPET
- Johnny BlevinsTRUMPET, ORCHESTRA
- Julietta CurentonFLUTE, PICCOLO FLUTE, ORCHESTRA MUSICIAN , FLUTE, PICCOLO FLUTE ORCHESTRA
- Katie HyunMUSICIAN , VIOLIN ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA, VIOLIN
- Laura WeinerFRENCH HORN, ORCHESTRA MUSICIAN , FRENCH HORN ORCHESTRA
- Margaret DyerMUSICIAN , VIOLA ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA, VIOLA
- Morgan GuerinELECTRIC BASS, SYNTH, BASS , VOCALS VOCALS
- Richard HarrisMUSICIAN , TENOR TROMBONE, BASS TROMBONE ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA, TENOR TROMBONE, BASS TROMBONE
3 collectors on Gatefold own this · 10 pressings tracked on Gatefold
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