This week, Meshell Ndegeocello performed a stunning live set for NPR’s highly-acclaimed Tiny Desk concert series. The concert was one of a series of high-profile shows scheduled for Black Music Month.
NPR said in a statement: “This Black Music Month, Tiny Desk is giving the ladies their flowers. We’re releasing nine Tiny Desk concerts from Black women artists, from veterans who’ve paved the way for what we hear today in Black music, to those who are carving out their own paths.”
Ndegeocello’s transcendent Tiny Desk performance featured three songs from her new album No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin (“Travel,” “Thus Sayeth The Lorde” and “Love”) and concluded with fan favorites “Virgo” (from The Omnichord Real Book) and finally the yearning “Outside Your Door.” You can watch the performance below.
Ndegeocello’s new Blue Note album No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin is a striking homage to the eminent writer and activist James Baldwin to be released on his Centennial: August 2, 2024. The visionary work is at once a musical experience, a church service, a celebration, a testimonial, and a call to action. With No More Water, Ndegeocello embarks on a prophetic musical odyssey that transcends boundaries and genres, delving headfirst into race, sexuality, religion, and other recurring themes explored in Baldwin’s canon.
Following 2023’s The Omnichord Real Book, her acclaimed Blue Note debut which won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album, the multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer renders an immersive and palpable document that is as sagacious, unabashed, and introspective as Baldwin was in life.
Co-produced by Ndegeocello and guitarist Chris Bruce, No More Water features some of the bassist’s frequent collaborators including Bruce, vocalist Justin Hicks, saxophonist (and Omnichord producer) Josh Johnson, keyboardist Jebin Bruni, and drummer Abe Rounds.
Also appearing on various songs are vocalist Kenita-Miller Hicks, keyboardists Jake Sherman and Julius Rodriguez, and Executive Director of the NYCPS Arts Office and trumpeter Paul Thompson. The album also showcases powerful spoken word by venerated poet Staceyann Chin and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and critic Hilton Als.
Pre-order No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin.
