Vocalist, bassist, and composer Meshell Ndegeocello and her band perform her song “Pride” from her album “No More Water” during their concert on January 17, 2024 – part of the 2024-25 Season and broadcast on Fridays Live.

Watch many other performances on SFJAZZ At Home: https://www.SFJAZZ.org/AtHome
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About this concert:
Following her magical appearances during the 2022-23 Season, GRAMMY-winning bassist, singer, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello brought her latest project to the Miner stage, “No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin,” music from her new Blue Note album inspired by the iconic essayist, novelist, and activist in recognition of what would have been his 100th birthday.

The Berlin-born Ndegeocello cut her teeth on Washington D.C.’s explosive go-go circuit in the 1980s and was one of the first artists signed to Madonna’s Maverick Records label, which released her landmark neo soul album “Plantation Lullabies” in 1993.

A GRAMMY winner and 11-time nominee, Ndegeocello built a career as an uncompromising artist whose deliriously funky and soulful work is a powerful commentary on race, gender issues, and LGBTQ+ rights.

She’s released 13 albums as a leader and has amassed a distinguished list of collaborators including Jason Moran, Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, John Mellencamp, Madonna, Pat Metheny, Marcus Miller, Terence Blanchard, and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

No More Water/The Fire Next Time has its roots in Ndegeocello’s 2016 commission by the Harlem Stage’s WaterWorks program. In her words, “Baldwin speaks about things that are very familiar within the human condition, and the most revolutionary music to me — the music that changed my life — is the songs about the inner struggle, the commonality of being human.”

PERSONNEL:
Meshell Ndegeocello: bass, vocals
Josh Johnson: alto saxophone
Christopher Bruce: guitar
Jebin Bruni: keyboards
Jake Sherman: organ
Abe Rounds: drums
Jake Hicks: vocals

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