Esperanza Spalding, the innovative young jazz talent who burst onto the music scene by becoming the first jazz musician ever to win the Grammy for Best New Artist, is regressing.

Not in artistry, which continues to be bold and exciting. Not in creativity, which seems to be flowing faster than can be comprehended.

Rather, her show “Emily’s D+Evolution” took the crowd at The Republik on Wednesday back through time, when Spalding was a child and went by her middle name, Emily, and through the trials and tribulations that come with maturity and development. But this performance piece was certainly far beyond your typical coming-of-age tale.

Spalding began the show as someone we might expect from someone of her artistic accomplishment — a beautiful, diva-like presence. Elegant and arresting in a black-and-white gown, her hair in a large afro, Spalding began the 90-minute work with her song “Farewell Dolly,” a gospel-like ode to tired housewives looking for that sparkle in life. The slow, moody tune gave her ample opportunity to show off her elastic voice.

Disappearing behind a shroud for a moment while some spacy sound effects filled the room, she emerged, crawling out on all fours, dressed in white jeans and a white top, large Elton-like glasses over her eyes. The afro was gone, replaced by dreadlocks, and topped off with a somewhat tarnished crown. This was Emily, an ingenue, perhaps as young as 8 but probably 12, or maybe the way we’d like 12-year-olds used to be — bright-eyed and curious about the world.

She got over that stage in a hurry though. After singing a few odd notes, finding her voice as it were, she grabbed her bass guitar (she plays standup bass too, but not on this night) and launched into her song “Good Lava,” a rather lusty tune sung by a girl becoming aware of sexuality. The hard-driving tune had Spalding’s group, Matthew Stevens on guitar, Justin Tyson on drums, really rocking out.

Stagecraft was evident throughout the show, with backup vocalists Shawna Corso, Emily Elbert and Corey King, acting out little dramas with Spalding, who stayed in character for the entire show. For her tune “Ebony and Ivy,” they emerged from their perch behind a decorative railing, piling book after book in Spalding’s arms. The rather moody song, which unfolds with rapid-fire delivery of highfalutin intellectual speak, is likely a reference to Spalding’s appointment as a teacher at the famed Berklee School of Music at the tender age of 20. In another tune, “Judas,” King, simply by his slouching demeanor, was enough to create the impression of someone wracked with guilt. The song is about a man with a drinking problem.

This was all rather heady stuff thematically, and musically it was challenging too. Most of the songs were dissonant from top to bottom, swallowing up the catchy vocals. Though the play-acting gave the audience a good idea about the subject matter, this was one instance where this writer, who has been covering opera for the Star-Advertiser the past few years, would have appreciated subtitles on the screens beside the stage, just to catch the full drift of Spalding’s lyrics.

Perhaps for that reason, the crowd, though bumping and nodding with the music, was less inclined to dance, even though much of the music had a strong beat. An exception was “Funk the Fear,” a song about seizing the day and living life to the fullest. Corso, King and Elbert took over the stage strutting their stuff as dancers, even coming out onto the floor to get the crowd going. The tune also gave Stevens a chance to show his virtuosic lead guitar playing, jamming to Spalding’s powerful bass.

Spalding, whose previous efforts have included more familiar Latin and jazz idioms, delivered some earworm worthy material too, especially the final tune “Unconditional Love.” Its graceful melody, sung in Spalding’s clear, cheerful soprano, was enough to convince you that Emily’s d-evolution was in fact an evolution.

Into what, though, is difficult to say for now. Maybe that’s the point. Spalding has shown full range in traditions ranging from gospel to blues to rock with nearly an opera-quality voice, virtuousic instrumental performance, not to mention the solid musicianship. The musical world is her oyster now.