Esperanza Spalding: Jazz As Radio Music

"These are good times for Esperanza Spalding. The bass player, composer and vocalist was barely into her 20s when she released her debut album on a Spanish label in 2006. Her 2008 breakout record, Esperanza, topped Billboard's contemporary jazz chart. Not long after that, she was invited to play at the White House by President Barack Obama."

"Last year, she was the first jazz musician to be named Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards — much to the chagrin of Justin Bieber and legions of tweens. Spalding's latest album,Radio Music Society, comes out this week."

"'The benefit of the radio is, something beyond your realm of knowledge can surprise you, can enter your realm of knowledge,' Spalding tells Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin. 'Part of the premise of that stems from my concern about the accessibility of jazz, just how people can access it. If you don't already know about jazz music, how would you be exposed? How would get an opportunity to find out if it spoke to you? If you get exposed to it enough, you might find a taste for it.'"