February 14, 2011 :: The Editors :: No Comment Yet
Esperanza means hope, in Spanish. One year ago today, we posted Esperanza Spalding’s enrapturing performance of “Tell Him” at the 2009 White House poetry jam, and today we bring her back to the front page, to honor her for winning “best new artist” at the Grammys. But with all that’s taking place in the world, why write about Esperanza Spalding? Because her win is a sign there is hope we can be more thoughtful about how we make music and why.
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February 14, 2010 :: staff :: Comments Off
Esperanza Spalding, a rising star in the jazz world, and an increasingly recognizable face at high-profile cultural gatherings, performs “Tell Him” at last year’s White House Poetry Jam, in this video. The song is a moody, jazzy blend of love and meditation, an apt message for a weekend on which we celebrate both the virtues [...]
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June 26, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: Comments Off
Michael Jackson was ‘the king of pop’, an informal title he acquired through the relentless echo chamber of American celebrity. He won this title by topping the charts from a young age, by having the “it” quality, by innovative body motions that changed dance, like the “moonwalk”, by way of record music sales, by way of conquering the video medium, by staging a massive global drive to fund food aid to Africa, by being odd enough to garner endless headlines, or because none of us really understand what it takes to rise to the top of the popular culture that elevated him and defamed him, or what it’s like to be there. So he was “king”, the way any royalty lives a life incomprehensible —for its opulence, its complications, its stresses— to the rest of society.
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June 1, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
This Playing for Change song brings together musicians who played together on “Stand by Me”, and for the first time, shows all the musicians playing together in the same place. The piece is a live recording of Grandpa Elliot and Clarence Bekker, singing with this band from around the world, in New Orleans. An audience of thousands was able to witness this inspired performance.
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May 15, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
As we made our way around the world we encountered love, hate, rich and poor, black and white, and many different religious groups and ideologies. It became very clear that as a human race we need to transcend from the darkness to the light and music is our weapon of the future. This song around the world features musicians who have seen and overcome conflict and hatred with love and perseverance.
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May 9, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
This “song around the world” recording of Bob Marley’s “One Love” is an expression of the Playing for Change team’s approach to using the creative process to reach the point where the message of human creativity and expression illuminates a basic common humanity. It is, like any effective rendition of the song, a hymn to love and understanding, but it is also a lesson about the little ways any given person might contribute texture and emotion to a shared undertaking, a strong example of the Playing for Change project.
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May 7, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
The Playing for Change producers’ aim was to “break down boundaries and overcome distances between people”, recognizing that “music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race.” This video brings together musicians from around the world, but also shows many of them playing in the performance-intense streets at the heart of Barcelona’s old city or Casc Antic.
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May 6, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Playing for Change: “The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race.”
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