In her ebullient singing and her agile bass playing, Ms. Spalding radiated a cyclone-force charisma, along with the fresh-faced self-conviction that only precocity can bestow. But the hourlong show was more than a reminder of her talent. It was heartening confirmation of her recent growth: as an artist, a bandleader, a vocalist and a star attraction, if not always in that order.
Ms. Spalding is 24, and she has been gathering accolades since her student years, initially from other musicians. Her second album, Esperanza (Heads Up), changed the game by focusing chiefly on her vocals. At a time when most jazz falls outside the borders of mainstream culture, Ms. Spalding grabbed the spotlight and held it; last month she joined the handful of musicians who have performed, so far, in the Obama White House.
If Ms. Spaldings background marks her as a kindred spirit to Mr. Batiste, her instincts place her squarely in the Ledisi camp. Her performance was an exercise in bedazzlement, beginning with a supple hip-hop reinvention of Jazz (Aint Nothin but Soul), a song associated with Betty Carter. The busy briskness of the melody, together with the stop-start patterns in the arrangement, established the groundwork for her set.
