We spoke with OfficialMeshell ahead of her new album 'The Omnichord Real Book'
, there’s a memorable scene where Meshell Ndegeocello asks Funk Brothers bassist Bob Babbitt if he felt any racial tension as a White musician in a mostly-Black band in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. When Babbitt gets choked up talking about the deep bond within the band vis-à-vis the emotional impact of King Jr.’s death, Ndegeocello places her arm on his shoulder to comfort him.
That exchange sums-up what Ndegeocello is like in conversation—sort of. Although no one was moved to the verge of tears when the veteran bassist/singer-songwriter spoke to, her debut for the iconic Blue Note label, she was similarly generous of spirit.
On “Virgo 3,” for example, Ndegeocello ponders the death of her parents with the line “they’re calling me / back to the stars,” a combination of’s celestial tone, angular Sun Ra-inspired horns and glitchy modern electro-funk. On “Clear Water,” the band and a half-dozen guests put a startling new spin on Parliament-Funkadelic. Elsewhere, “The 5th Dimension” revisits ’80s rock-pop balladry at its most sublime.
Looking back on her career path, it’s remarkable to think that Ndegeocello initially came to prominence as an upstart avatar of the neo-soul movement. Over time, she’s grown into an irrepressible explorer—not unlike, say, Prince or Björk—who embodies a kind of infinite vision for what pop music can be. Withat length shortly before the new album’s release.
Also, my father was kind of a musical tyrant. He did not understand the music I made when I was first trying. So we had a combative relationship. It’s because of him that I’m the musician I am—he taught me how to be a great bandleader—but it’s not like he understood. He just didn’t really get it. And he would be very critical. After he died, I realized I didn’t have thisconstantly telling me “It’s not good enough.” And then with my mother, it was a very hard relationship.
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