MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO makes a welcome comeback to recording with a new album, her second for Blue Note, ‘No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin’. The LP is an unashamed, unapologetic tribute to pioneering Afro-American writer, thinker and activist James Baldwin – whose 100th anniversary it is this year. He was born in Harlem on August 2nd 1924.
Ms Ndegeocello’s team describe the album as “a musical experience, a church service, a celebration, a testimonial, and a call to action… that transcends boundaries and genres, delving headfirst into race, sexuality, religion, and other recurring themes, themes that were explored in Baldwin’s canon.”
We’re also told that the album has been nearly a decade in the making. It seems that the album’s origins began in 2016 during a performance at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse as part of their annual showcase honouring Baldwin. Ndegeocello had delved into Baldwin’s work the year before, including the seminal nonfiction work ‘The Fire Next Time’, which she considers “life-changing” and carries with her as a “spiritual text.” Ndegeocello says, “It was just a revelation to me, and it softened my heart in so many ways.”
Right now the track winning plays from soul and jazz tastemakers is the lovely ‘Love’… complex, provocative and moving. ‘No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin’ is out now via Blue Note.
