Meshell Ndegeocello has been a working musician since she was a teenager. She’s probably best known for her biggest hit to date, “Wild Night,” a Van Morrison cover she recorded with John Mellancamp back in 1994. Meshell is 55 now and just put out her 11th solo album, “The Omnichord Real Book,” her first in five years. The album started as a kind of personal pandemic project before she decided to share it with the world, and it’s now been nominated for a Best Alternative Jazz Album Grammy award.
When Anna spoke with Meshell, she was just back from a quick European tour, and they talked about what it was like for her to grow up in the 70s and 80s in the Washington D.C. area, surrounded by music, and how she found the bass, her main instrument, by chance (and with a little help from Prince.) In this episode, Meshell shares how her life with music has evolved through the years, what she’s learned to let go of – as a performer, as a mother and a daughter – and how the ‘musical transmissions’ that she receives help her stay grounded and present to who she really is, moment to moment.
Hard: Softening Expectations
Hard: Little Pill, Big Pharma
Hard: Erectile Disappointment
Why Lynn Nottage Cashed Out Her 401(k)
Affairs, Throuples, and Big Monogamy: Your Relationship Questions Answered
Inheriting Divorce
Where is Lisa Fischer's Backup?
This Elvis Impersonator Does It For Love… And Money
André De Shields On Living With His Shadow
Downsizing After Divorce
A New Year's Pep Talk From Robin Arzón
Why I Steal
A Season to Savor
The Weight Of Love
Why Alan Cumming Doesn't Do Drama
Becoming A Parent Of Six, At 25
“What I Live With”: The Aftermath of Fatal Accidents
I Love My Dad, But I Don't Love Guns
Order Up, Tapped Out: Life After Restaurant Burnout
Succession's J. Smith-Cameron On Old Haunts and New Normals
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
The NPR Politics Podcast
Up First
This American Life
Stuff You Should Know
On Being with Krista Tippett