Chamber Music Society

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Absolute Sound	[4]
Allmusic	[5]
All About Jazz	[6]
Billboard	73/100[7]
The Daily Telegraph	[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Paste	7.1/10[10]
Popmatters	[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Tom Hull	B−[13]

Bill Friskics-Warren of The Washington Post noted "The mood throughout the album's 11 tracks is languid and improvisatory, with Spalding and members of her chamber ensemble weaving in and out of roomy arrangements that afford them as much chance to linger on a note as to take off on flights of melodic or rhythmic fancy. Their fusion of jazz, contemporary classical and other sources, including some understated funk, is as lively as it is original".[14] Will Layman of PopMatters commented, "2010 brings Spalding’s most ambitious and complex music yet. Chamber Music Society delivers more of what a fan would expect –sinuous singing, a flexible, modern, acoustic jazz trio at the center, Latin rhythms that shift through funk, swing, and Brazilian grooves, but always in service of tuneful soul — while adding some daring new elements as well."[11]

Zachary Sniderman of Paste Magazine wrote "Spalding’s voice is the warm heart of Chamber Music Society. Her best songs are anchored by that core, despite some experimental slips into the jazz deep-end. Spalding does better carving out a soundscape than acting like a sonic bulldozer. Still, Chamber Music Society is a fresh, slender album that shows both Spalding’s immense talent and the heart within it".[15] Mark Kemp of Rolling Stone added, "Chamber Music Society finds Spalding stretching herself a bit too thin... But her talent is undeniable."[12]

All songs written and composed by Esperanza Spalding, except where noted.

1. "Little Fly" (lyrics: William Blake, music: Esperanza Spalding) – 3:33
2. "Knowledge of Good and Evil" – 7:59
3. "Really Very Small" – 2:44
4. "Chacarera" (Leo Genovese) – 7:27
5. "Wild Is the Wind" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 5:37
6. "Apple Blossom" – 6:02
7. "As a Sprout" – 0:41
8. "What a Friend" – 4:54
9. "Winter Sun" – 6:48
10. "Inútil Paisagem" (lyrics: Aloísio de Oliveira, music: Antonio Carlos Jobim) – 4:38
11. "Short and Sweet" – 5:52

• Esperanza Spalding – bass guitar, double bass, vocals
• Leo Genovese – piano, electric piano, melodica
• Terri Lyne Carrington – drums
• Quintino Cinalli – percussion
• Entcho Todorov – violin
• Lois Martin – viola
• David Eggar – cello
• Ricardo Vogt – nylon-stringed guitar on "Apple Blossom"
• Milton Nascimento – guest vocals on "Apple Blossom"
• Gretchen Parlato – backing vocals on "Inútil Paisagem" and "Knowledge of Good and Evil"
• Jay Newland - engineer
• Gil Goldstein – co-arranger