esperanza spalding

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Pushkin Industries

Music, Society & Culture

4.5 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A month ago at the Grammys, Alicia Keys gave a beautiful speech while accepting the Global Impact Award. Part of her speech was dedicated to the women producers who power the industry, women like Patrice Rushen, Missy Elliott, Linda Perry, and others.

This was top of mind for Justin Richmond when he sat down with esperanza spalding at the Blue Note club in New York, where she was in the middle of a residency. Not only because she just produced a gorgeous new collaborative album by the unheralded Brazilian genius, Milton Nascimento, naturally called “Milton + esperanza.” But she’s also self produced just about all of her own projects from the very beginning.

esperanza and Justin talk about why she’s been producing herself from the jump in this episode, what it’s been like working so closely with master mentors like Milton Nascimento, but also Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. And esperanza talks about the rocky beginning of her career.

Listen to the songs of Milton Nascimento as curated by esperanza spalding

Listen to Milton + esperanza’s collaborative album

Listen to a collection of songs by esperanza spalding

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Pushkin.
0:07.0	A month ago at the Grammys, Alicia Keys gave a beautiful speech while accepting the Global Impact Award.
0:17.0	Part of her speech was dedicated to the women producers who power the industry, women like Patrice Russian, Missy Elliott, Linda Perry, and others.
0:24.9	This was top of mind for me when I sat down with Esperanza Spalding at the Blue Note Club in New York, where she was in the middle of a residency.
0:32.3	Not only because she just produced a gorgeous new collaborative album by the unheralded Brazilian genius Milton Nostimento,
0:38.7	naturally called Milton and Esperanza. But she's self-produced just about all of her own
0:43.9	projects from the very beginning. Esperanza and I talk about why she's been producing herself
0:48.9	from the jump in this episode, what it's been like working so closely with master mentors like
0:53.3	Milton Nostrimento, but also Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.
0:57.0	And Esperanza tells me what she views as the rocky beginning to her career.
1:02.0	This is Broken Record. Real musicians, real conversations.
1:09.0	If you'd like to watch the video version, real conversations.
1:17.2	If you'd like to watch the video version of today's episode, visit our YouTube page,
1:19.7	YouTube.com slash broken record podcast.
1:23.5	Here's my conversation with Esperanza Spalding.
1:27.2	He's just such a fan girl for... He's not even going to, he's not going to own it at this point. He's cool. He's cool. He's just such a fan girl for... He's not even gonna...
1:28.0	He's not gonna own it at this point.
1:29.3	He's cool, he's cool.
1:30.3	Yeah, he's probably playing it cool, though.
1:32.3	I think so, because he knows we're gonna roast him about it all the time.
1:35.3	That's so funny.
1:36.3	Cool.
	...

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