Meshell Ndegeocello, Jazz Café, London
by Mike Hobart for the Financial Times, June 16, 2010 22:59

Bass guitarist and vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello is an unusual combination of top session musician and idiosyncratic songwriter – an artist who, far from flitting between genres, stamps her mark on them. Her first album, 1993’s Plantation Lullabies, gave a jazzy gloss to rootsy R&B – the single “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night)” was a minor hit – and ushered in the upmarket aesthetic of the nu soul movement. Five albums on, 2005’s The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel twinned unrestricted instrumental jazz with off-kilter urban grooves that were the basis of a memorable Jazz Café gig in the same year.

Her current project, based on new album Devil’s Halo and showcased at this gig, sets aside the extended breaks and interactive wizardry of jazz for an unashamed turn to the aesthetics of back-to-basics alt-rock, albeit delivered with technical flair and magisterial control. Now the focus is on Ndegeocello’s well-crafted songs, lyrical hooks and understated vocals – extra wispy thanks to a heavy cold – and the instrumental interest is concentrated on texture, tone and the impressive Chris Bruce on lead and rhythm guitar.

The current crop of Ndegeocello lyrics looks at relationships through a veil of angst, alienation and apocalypse. The best hooks are as pointed as good country and western – “I always pick the wrong way, it feels like the right thing to do” and “Forgive me for my ways” stood out – and there were thoughts on existential crisis and inter-racial relationships. A tour of Ireland was turned into the loose, morose ballad “Crying in Your Beer” and a high-point re-working of Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not be Televised” referenced current events.

For much of the gig, Ndegeocello restricted herself to singing and banished supporting bass guitarist Mark Kelley only for folksy duets or her own dub-inflected bounce. But beneath the gauche surface there were strange goings on. Drummer Deantoni Parks’ oddly placed beats spiced an already crunchy bass, stripped-down rhythms pulsed with disjointed boogaloo and there was a dramatic use of space. Best of all, guitarist Bruce’s open-string jangle and buzz-saw fuzz couldn’t disguise the technical dexterity and instrumental flair with which he capped many of Ndegeocello’s songs. (3 of 5 stars)

It was wonderful. She played about 1h35min. They were giggling a lot. It was fun. I had a really great time!