Finally! I received my copy of the pre-release order of Esperanza Spalding's 12 Little Spells album cast with with 4 additional spells. Alas, the earlier-promised digital downloads never landed in my inbox.

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At any rate, I love the accompaying videos that were shot for each "spell," and those, plus her stage-presentation explorations herald the shaping of new facets for this talent! Can't wait to dive into this extended recording. Esperanza quotes in her liner notes, "There is innate healing power in shared creaativity pushing against the boudaries of commodification." Amen to that!

When this project came to light and I witnessed the video sequence on Esperanza's site (http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/), some like myself may have wondered what the spells were all about. Many quickly figured it out--each song represents a certain part of the body.

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The album is basically an essay on the human body and its connections with its environment strung out in 12 succinct statements. It's a pretty clever album concept to me now that I think of it; a very-well done vocal and instrumental essay to focus mindfulness toward what and how we are. That's art for you, I guess!