One of the few younger non-Japanese acts gracing the stage at this weekend's Tokyo Jazz Festival is singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding. Though appearing at the city's main jazz event, the multifaceted 30-year-old musician could just as easily be performing at Fuji Rock Festival or Summer Sonic. Truly hard to categorize, Spalding seamlessly mixes pop, neo-soul and bossa nova into her heady brew.
Since breaking out in the mid-2000s, she has gone on to capture the best new artist Grammy in 2011 (famously beating out Justin Bieber), while gaining an avid following unusual for such a young jazz musician. For the 2015 Tokyo Jazz Festival she'll be showcasing her Emily's D+Evolution project before undertaking a full nationwide tour. D+Evolution showcases Spalding's alter ego, Emily, and takes the audience through her childhood and up to the present day. On the verge of arriving for the festival, she spoke with The Japan Times.
What can we expect with the Emily's D+Evolution project?