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Soul Central

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by Tom Huntington, Arts Correspondent (This article appears in today’s Times Argus)

Meshell Ndegeocello performs “A Dedication to Nina Simone” on Saturday, February 1 at 8 pm. Get tickets.

The All Music Guide calls her “a master bassist and a poignant, restless songwriter,” and the New York Times called her “a singer-songwriter of searching candor and an electric bassist of mesmerizing skill.” On Saturday, singular singer-bassist Meshell Ndegeocello makes a rare Vermont appearance at the Flynn Center in Burlington, where she’ll perform a “dedication” to the iconic singer and pianist Nina Simone.

Simone — who died in 2003 at the age of 70 and was known as “the high priestess of soul” — is the inspiration behind Ndegeocello’s latest album, “Pour Une Ame Souveraine (For a Sovereign Soul),” which is subtitled “A Dedication to Nina Simone.” The album, her 10th studio recording, is a “re-envisioning” of Simone’s music, according to Ndegeocello.

Featuring songs written by Simone and compositions that she made her own, the album “is the best kind of dedication to Simone,” according to the AMG. “It invokes her inspiration rather than attempting to re-create her character.”

Guest vocalists on the album include such standouts as Toshi Reagan, Cody Chesnutt, Lizz Wright and Valerie June. “But the most intriguingly shaded voice on the album belongs to Ms. Ndegeocello,” said the New York Times, “who apprehends Simone’s legacy with curiosity and stubbornness — as well as a keen appreciation of her political stance, what Ms. Ndegeocello called her ‘blurry sexuality,’ her independence as a black woman and her fearsome integrity as an artist.”

And while artists as diverse as Adele, John Legend, The Roots and Kanye West have in recent years covered, sampled or claimed Simone as a source of inspiration, Ndegeocello “has always been Simone’s heir apparent,” NPR said.

“Ndegeocello, like Simone, has dared to cross musical boundaries, express bold politics and be a steadfast presence as an African-American instrumentalist in a male-dominated music scene,” NPR added. “Both on the album … and in live performance, these songs all fit neatly in the Ndegeocello pantheon.”

Ndegeocello (pronounced N-deh-gay-o-chel-o), 45, is a New York-based musician who burst onto the scene with her acclaimed 1993 debut album, “Plantation Lullabies.” A genre-hopping mélange of pop, R&B, jazz, funk and hiphop, the eclectic disc — which includes the sassy hit song, “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night)” – earned three Grammy nominations, including one for best R&B album.

Ndegeocello broke through to a larger audience the following year, collaborating with singer John Mellencamp on his cover of Van Morrison’s “Wild Night,” which scored another Grammy nomination. And she was the first woman to be featured on the cover of Bass Player magazine in 1995.

One of the first female artists signed to Madonna’s Maverick record label in 1993, Ndegeocello continues to deliver compelling albums but has remained, for the most part, an underground sensation revered by musicians and a loyal cult following. An in-demand session player, Ndegeocello has recorded with everyone from The Rolling Stones and Santana to Chaka Khan and Madonna.

With her band — which at the Flynn will include her longtime guitarist Chris Bruce, keyboardist Jebin Bruni and drummer Otto Hauser — Ndegeocello says she is creating a live experience similar to the days when Simone performed at the Village Vanguard in New York City.

“It’s an adult experience,” she told the Roanoke Times on Tuesday. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think we play well. So if you’re one of those people who still likes to listen to music, and you don’t need the visual dazzle — because we don’t have a light show, we don’t have dancers — this is the show for you.”


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