It's Afrofuturistically funky and a beckoning from another universe. Comb the galaxy of Funk all day long every day and you'd still be searching for anything remotely approaching the multiverse of possibilities in the sound here. There is no one like Meshell Ndegeocello. And adherents of no single genre can be completely selfish about claiming the 54-year-old jazz A-list bass guitarist singer, songwriter, composer, bandleader born in Germany raised in Washington DC as their own.
'Virgo' - Meshell was indeed born under the same astrological star sign - features harpist Brandee Younger and Julius Rodriguez on Farfisa organ and introduces The Omnichord Real Book out in June. Album guests include a who's who of today's jazz greats including Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire and Jeff Parker. Meshell is on vocals, key bass, and keyboards on the track.
Fans will know that there is an earlier 'Virgo' in the Meshell discography. Not a doppelgänger it had appeared on The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams (Bismillah) album back in 2007. And yet World Saxophone Quartet sax icon Oliver Lake who was on that earlier name chimer arranges the upcoming album's closing 'Virgo 3' track.
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