Meshell Ndegeocello at Stary Klasztor: bass, soul, jazz and music without genre boundaries

Meshell Ndegeocello is one of contemporary music's greatest individual talents. Her imagination knows no boundaries: each album is an entirely new musical experience. Soul, r’n’b, jazz, reggae, pop, funk, hip-hop and rock are merely points on a map, an invitation to an intercontinental journey into the unknown!

Meshell Ndegeocello was born in Berlin in 1968, inheriting her musical instinct from her father, saxophonist Jacques Johnson. Madonna first recognised her talent, recording “I'd Rather Be Your Lover” with her. Meshell recorded her first five albums for Madonna’s Maverick Records, including her career’s most personal record, “Bitter”. The singles “If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)”, “Leviticus: Faggot” and “Who Is He and What Is He To You?” enjoyed enormous popularity.

Most material on her records is original, although each usually contains one or two covers, including Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye and Bob Marley compositions. Her biggest hit is a Van Morrison cover, “Wild Night”, performed with John Mellencamp and reaching number 3 on Billboard. The exception is her penultimate release, “Pour Une Ame Souveraine: A Dedication To Nina Simone”, filled entirely with songs once sung by the great jazz star.

Since 2005, Meshell has also arranged and produced her own material. Her collaborators include Prince, Lenny Kravitz, The Rolling Stones, Alanis Morissette, George Clinton, Herbie Hancock, Steve Coleman, Marcus Miller and Chaka Khan. Her albums feature some of the world's greatest jazz stars: Cassandra Wilson, Kenny Garrett, Jack de Johnette and Pat Metheny.

She has released 11 superb albums and received multiple Grammy nominations. Her latest release, “Comet, Come To Me”, appeared in 2014. According to the artist, it is an exercise in living in the moment, surrendering to spontaneity and being here and now. Rather than a concept album, it is an artistic statement born of a creative impulse and expressing creative freedom.

Meshell Ndegeocello will perform in Wrocław for the second time, having given a brilliant concert at Eter in 2014. One thing we know for certain: this will be no repeat performance, because Meshell never plays the same repertoire, and each appearance is a real surprise for her listeners. It is also an opportunity to encounter one of the world's most outstanding artists.

▶