Meshell Ndegeocello
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Beautiful & fierce experimental R&B/pop
Status:
Most recent release, Weather (2011)
See also:
Meshell Ndegeocello's siteThe Free My Heart Meshell Ndegeocello site
Comparisons:
Is there anyone like her at all?
Covers/own material:
Own and co-written, with occasional covers
General comments:
A pioneer in experimental R&B, Meshell Ndegeocello writes emotional, changeable music that explores the edges of pop music and balances beauty and power. (Neile)
Recommended first album:
The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams
Recordings:
- Plantation Lullabies (1993)
- Peace Beyond Passion (1996)
- Bitter (1999)
- Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (2002)
- Comfort Woman (2003)
- The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel (2005)
- The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams (2007)
- Devil's Halo (2009)
- Weather (2011)
Bitter
Release info:
1999—Maverick—9 47439-2
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Meshell Ndegeocello
Guest artists:
Abe Labdriel, Jr.
Doyle Bramhall II
Lisa Coleman
Chris Bruce Wendy Melvoin
Greg Leisz
David Torn
Ronny Drayton
Danny Sadownick
Biti Straug
Araf St. Michael
Joe Henry
Sandra Park
Sharon Yamata
Alan Stepansky
Robert Rinehart
Produced by:
Craig Street
Comments:
it's brilliant and heartbreaking, and makes me curl into the fetal position and want to cry. seriously. that good. 'fool of me' is absolutely perfect. (sketches@earthlink.net)
The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams
Release info:
2007—EmErcy
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Meshell Ndegeocello—vocals, bass, organ, guitar, hi-hat, drums, keyboards, various other instruments
Guest artists:
Hamza Yusuf—vocals (1)
Brandon Ross—guitar (1, 6)
Deantoni Parks—drums (2, 8, 9, 10)
Mike Severson—guitars (2, 12)
Daniel Jones—vocals (3)
Oliver Lake—saxophone (4)
James Newtom—flute (4, 5)
George McMullen—trombone (4)
Farenheit—intro vocals (5)
Hervé Sambe—guitar (5, 7, 9)
Rhamis Kent—guitar (5), drums (11)
Gilmar Gomes—percussion (5, 9)
Sy Smith—vocals (6, 9, 12, 13)
Amatus-Sami—programming (6)
Graham Haynes—cornet (6)
Davi Vieira—percussion (6, 7, 8)
Oumou Sangare—vocals (7)
Pat Metheny—guitar (7, 8)
Thandiswa Mazwai—vocals (8)
Doyle Bramhall—guitar (9)
David Gilmore—giutar (9)
Daniel Jones—keyboards (9), synths (12)
Scott Mann—additional keyboards and ambience (9)
Chad Royce—additional keyboards and ambience (9)
Jason Lindner—keyboards (10)
Jack Bean—spoken word (11)
Mark Kelley—bass (12)
Robert Glasper—piano (12)
Produced by:
Meshell Ndegeocello with Erk Dyba, Scott Mann & Chad Royce
Comments:
One of my top CDS of 2007. I'm a longtime fan, and this is her strongest yet. She keeps getting more and more artful and more tapped into her creative well, her art, her spirituality. This is a really really deep record that I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of. (timjy@sbcglobal.net)Ack! Why did it take me three years to discover this album? I've been hearig about Meshell Ngegeocello for years and never followed through on tracking down her music. Now I'm embarrassed I've wasted so much time. This is a gorgeous evocative album encompassing a broad range but also creatively focused. It's experimental but also highly listenably based on rhythm and blues. The music and vocals are flowing and powerful. Don't be like me—check this out NOW. Highly, highly recommended. (Neile)
