Who exactly is Esperanza Spalding?

The 26-year-old singer and acoustic upright bassist was the first jazz performer to ever win a best new artist Grammy.

Although she's not so "new." Spalding's been recording since 2006, when she released "Junjo" on a small Spanish label. Her next album, "Esperanza," came out two years later and combined the same contemporary jazz with Afro-Cuban melodies. Last year's "Chamber Music Society" album broke new ground when Spalding set a William Blake poem to music in "Little Fly."

Some are calling the Portland, Ore., native the next Norah Jones, because of her youthful acceptance of older musical styles.

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