Grade: C-
Coming off her “Best New Artist” win, Esperanza Spalding’s debut album “Esperanza” launched up digital charts, with everyone wondering the same thing: Who is she? She is a contemporary jazz artist with little showmanship and lacks flair to be a pop culture mainstay. Her songs would sound great in a jazz bar and the album works well in its genre, but it falls flat in my ears. All in all, Spalding should hold on to her 15 minutes of fame before it runs out and Spalding returns to touring small venues.