Singers Milton Nascimento and esperanza spalding honor friendship on their new album
It was esperanza spalding’s longtime dream to make music with Milton Nascimento.
The bassist was a student at Berklee College of Music when she first became a fan of the Brazilian singer-songwriter. A friend showed her Wayne Shorter’s 1975 album Native Dancer, which features Nascimento. “I didn’t know that was an option, that sound in the cosmos,” she told NPR’s Michel Martin. Now, two decades after that introduction, she has made an album with her idol. It's called Milton + esperanza.
At 81, Nascimento’s career spans more than 60 years. With over 40 albums, the singer is a household name in his home country. And spalding has won five Grammys, including one for best new artist in 2011, beating out Justin Bieber and Drake.
Their new album includes classics from Nascimento’s catalog, new originals by spalding and covers of “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson and “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles. The collaborators on the album include singer-songwriter Paul Simon, who studied Portuguese for two weeks so he could sing the duet Nascimento wrote for him.
Much of the album was recorded at Nascimento’s home in Rio de Janeiro. “Our engineer set up microphones in the room where Milton watches TV,” spalding said. “ We brought in some mattresses from another part of the house and just made a little nook in there.”
“It was really beautiful,” said Nascimento, speaking to NPR through an interpreter, “Everyone felt comfortable. I chose some songs. She chose others. Then we chose the musicians. We started out small, but it became something much greater.”
A collaborator who was on their minds when they made the record was their mutual friend, the late Wayne Shorter. The saxophonist died in March 2023, a month before they planned to start recording. “It was a very emotional, intense time,” spalding said. “I mean, Wayne is the reason that I know Milton. Wayne is a person that we have in common. A deep friend and a deep mentor, a hero.”
They honor their mutual friend by ending the album with Shorter’s song “When You Dream.” It features singing by his widow Carolina Shorter. “She said one of the last things Wayne said to her was, ‘You have to sing. People need to hear your voice,’” spalding said. “So it also felt like a gratitude, an honoring of his wish to have his wife's voice out in the world.”
spalding says creating an album with Nascimento is one of the best experiences of her life. “I love him,” she said. “So it's a joy to do whatever I can to serve the music.”
The digital version of this story was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. Valdemar Geo interpreted Portuguese for the radio version of this story.
Transcript
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PONTE DE AREIA")
MILTON NASCIMENTO: (Singing in Portuguese).
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Esperanza Spalding remembers when she first heard this record. She was studying music in college, and she says the singing in it changed her.
ESPERANZA SPALDING: I didn't know that was an option, that sound, in the cosmos.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PONTE DE AREIA")
NASCIMENTO: (Singing in Portuguese).
MARTIN: The record is called "Native Dancer." It came out in 1975. It's by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and it features Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento. Esperanza says Milton's voice took up more and more space in her creative imagination, so much so that she recorded her own version of that record.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PONTE DE AREIA")
SPALDING: (Singing in Portuguese).
MARTIN: Now Esperanza Spalding seems to be everywhere in the world of jazz. When she was 20, she became the youngest faculty member at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. She's won five Grammys, including for best new artist in 2011, beating out Justin Bieber and Drake for that honor, and she's collaborated with jazz giants like Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock - and now with Milton Nascimento, on her tenth studio album, "Milton + Esperanza."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OUTUBRO")
MILTON NASCIMENTO AND ESPERANZA SPALDING: (Singing in Portuguese).
MARTIN: Their friendship is so much a part of their lives that they've forgotten how it started. She's played on some of his tour dates.
SPALDING: And he sang on my record, and little by little, pouco a pouco.
MARTIN: Then, before a gig in Boston, Milton's son approached her with an offer.
SPALDING: Hey, you should produce a record for my father, and it'll be you two, produced by you. And I said, yeah, obviously.
(LAUGHTER)
SPALDING: What do you say to that?
MARTIN: She flew to his home in Brazil.
SPALDING: Our engineer set up microphones in the room where Milton watches TV, and it was just very casual. Like, we would get all set up and figure out how to make the sound of the room right. We brought in some mattresses, just made, like, a little nook in there and doing a lot of the vocal overdubs or layers or harmonies.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OUTUBRO")
SPALDING: (Singing in Portuguese).
NASCIMENTO AND SPALDING: (Singing in Portuguese).
MARTIN: When I spoke with Milton and Esperanza, they were sitting on a couch in the same house in Brazil where they recorded this album. Even over Zoom, you could get a sense of how much they like to play together.
SPALDING: (Speaking Portuguese.) I just realize we have the same socks from Spike Lee.
MARTIN: (Laughter).
SPALDING: Sorry. This is not important for the album, but...
MARTIN: But what I want to know - now I need to know about the socks. What are the socks? What do they have?
SPALDING: Spike Lee came to his concert, and afterwards, I saw him, and he was like, I didn't recognize you up there, or whatever, and then he said, I want to send you something, and he sent me some socks, and Milton is wearing the same socks.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: Their album includes classics from Nascimento's catalog, new originals by Spalding and covers like this one, from the Beatles.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "A DAY IN THE LIFE")
NASCIMENTO AND SPALDING: (Singing) I read the news today, oh, boy, about a lucky man who made the grade.
MARTIN: The many collaborators on this album include singer-songwriter Paul Simon.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "UM VENTO PASSOU")
PAUL SIMON: (Singing in Portuguese).
MARTIN: I understand that Paul Simon was so committed to making it right that he studied, like, the Portuguese for, like, two weeks to be sure that he could deliver it properly, and I just think - I'm just so sort of moved by that, but I just wanted to hear more about the song.
NASCIMENTO: (Through interpreter) There was a time when I really missed Paul, so I wrote the song and sent it to him, and it was an incredible thing. He later sang it, and it was beautiful.
MILTON NASCIMENTO AND PAUL SIMON: (Singing in Portuguese).
MARTIN: Another collaborator who was on their minds when they made this record was their mutual friend, the late Wayne Shorter. He died in March of 2023, a month before they planned to start recording.
SPALDING: It was a very emotional, intense time, of course. I mean, Wayne is the reason that I know Milton. Wayne is a person that we have in common, a deep friend and a deep mentor, a hero.
MARTIN: They decided to honor Wayne by inviting his widow, Carolina Shorter, to sing with them.
SPALDING: When she said yes, she said one of the last things Wayne said to her was, you have to sing; people need to hear your voice. So it also felt like a gratitude and honoring of his wish to have his wife's voice out in the world.
MILTON NASCIMENTO, ESPERANZA SPALDING AND CAROLINA SHORTER: (Singing) When you dream, remember wishes do come true, for dreams are only made by you. Love.
SPALDING: Often, the ones who care for our geniuses go unnamed and uncelebrated. And, I mean, she really was, like, the guardian angel and force allowing Wayne to keep up his creative productivity through his later years, and it also feels important that she's honored as we're honoring him.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHEN YOU DREAM")
NASCIMENTO, SPALDING AND SHORTER: (Singing) La, la, la, la, la, la. La, la, la, la, la. La, la, la, la, la. La, la, la, la, la.
MARTIN: Before we let you both go, I just wanted to ask each of you - what does it mean for you to have had this chance to work together?
NASCIMENTO: (Through interpreter) It was really beautiful, and everyone felt comfortable. I chose some songs. She chose others. Then we chose the musicians. We started out small, but it became something much greater.
MARTIN: And, Esperanza, before we let you go, what does it mean to you to work with Milton?
SPALDING: Nothing that can be said succinctly (laughter). One of the best experiences of my life, very inspiring, expanding and joyful. I love him, so it's a joy to do whatever I can to serve the music.
MARTIN: That is Milton Nascimento and Esperanza Spalding. Their new album is called "Milton + Esperanza."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CAIS")
NASCIMENTO AND SPALDING: (Singing in Portuguese). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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