This year’s Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival audience is in for a serious treat: bass player, rapper, singer, songwriter, and all around badass Meshell Ndegeocello. Though she is not a “jazz” musician by traditional standards, her music incorporates many different influences, jazz among them, as well as hip hop, r&b, soul, rock, and funk. Ndegeocello has found a way to seamlessly combine these genres in an honest and natural way that has sustained her 20-year career; the surname she adopted at age 17 (meaning “free like a bird”) rings true in her music. Her 10 Grammy nominations are extremely well deserved: it has been said that she put the neo-soul movement into motion.
Ndegeocello, 45, was born in Berlin, Germany and was later raised in Washington, D.C. She was one of the first artists signed to Maverick Records, and frankly, trying to list all of the recordings she has been featured on as either a bass player, rapper, or singer is a nearly impossible task, due to their sheer volume! She has collaborated with an incredibly diverse range of artists, from John Mellencamp to Herbie Hancock to Madonna to Alanis Morissette to the Rolling Stones, not to mention releasing her own solo albums along the way.
She has had several commercial hits including a duet with Mellencamp on a cover of Van Morrison’s “Wild Night”, Ndegeocello’s own “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night)”, and a cover of Bill Withers’ “Who Is He (and What Is He to You?)” Her music has been featured in several films, including How Stella Got Her Grove Back, Batman & Robin, Love & Basketball, The Best Man, and The Hurricane. In 2012 Ndegeocello released her tenth studio album entitled Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone on Naïve records. The album has guest appearances from Sinead O’Connor, Lizz Wright, and several other heavy hitters and was released to critical acclaim.
Her set at Beantown should definitely not be missed! Come check her out on the Natixis Global Asset Management Stage on Saturday, September 28th, 2013 at 3:30 pm. Even though we’d pay to see this prolific musician, it’s a free show!
Official artist website: http://www.meshell.com/
Personal artist website: http://www.freemyheart.com/
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