“On ‘Songwrights Apothecary Lab,’ Esperanza Spalding Probes the Power of Music”

I guess if I couldn’t make an interview with Esperanza Spalding work, reviewing her new album is the next best thing*. Look at it this way: Songwrights Apothecary Lab is a really good piece of work. 

It’s also the first of two pieces (second one TBP) I have in the pipeline that interrogate the purpose of art, and usefulness of art, during a moment of crisis like this one. I imagine every artist of every medium is asking themselves this sort of question. This record, in my mind, answers the question quite simply. We need art especially for moments of crisis. You need emergency services and medical personnel, too, and competent leadership, but you need art to get through the moments and to help understand them.

Songwrights Apothecary Lab accomplishes that handily. You can read my full review over at No Depression.

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*A very distant next. It’s Esperanza Spalding! What a bummer.