2003-11-04
Born in Germany as Mary Johnson in 1969, MeShell NdegeOcello moved to Virginia in the 1970's. Her dad was a military man and a jazz saxophonist. MeShell got into music as a teen and played in D.C. clubs with her songs that explored politics, race and sex. She continues to explore those themes in her most recent release, Comfort Woman. But here, LOVE prevails. This is her sixth disc on Maverick Records (Madonna's label) and she was one the first females to be signed on this label, back in the early 90's. MeShell has had about nine Grammy nominations and has played with a diverse group of musicians (Citizen Cope, Joe Henry, Indigo Girls, John Mellencamp, Chaka Chan, Micheal Franti, Arto Lindsay and others). Her sound has R&B elements mixed into a trippy, funky jazz sound. Mostly though, it's just plain sexy.DR. LONNIE SMITH
SPIRAL
THE CHARLES MINGUS SEXTET
Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy - Cornell 1964
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Next Stop...Soweto, Vol. 3: Giants, Ministers and Makers -- Jazz in South Aftrica 1963-1984
DIRTY BOURBON RIVER SHOW
Volume Four
Lewis Porter and Phil Scarff Group
Three Minutes to Four
AZAR LAWRENCE
Prayer For My Ancestors
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