Written by Meshell Ndegeocello has announced her second Blue Note album, a profound tribute to the legendary writer and activist James Baldwin. Titled No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin, the work is a multifaceted artistic statement that serves not only as a musical experience but also a church service, a celebration, a testimonial, and a call to action.
With this album, Ndegeocello has embarked on a prophetic journey transcending boundaries and genres, diving headfirst into themes of race, sexuality, religion, and other recurring topics explored in Baldwin’s canon.
Following her 2023 Blue Note debut The Omnichord Real Book, which won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album, the multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer has crafted an immersive and palpable document that is as sagacious, unabashed, and introspective as Baldwin himself.
Co-produced by Ndegeocello and guitarist Chris Bruce, No More Water features some of the bassist’s frequent collaborators, including Bruce, vocalist Justin Hicks, saxophonist (and Omnichord producer) Josh Johnson, keyboardist Jebin Bruni, and drummer Abe Rounds. The album also showcases powerful spoken word contributions from venerated poet Staceyann Chin and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and critic Hilton Als, among others.
The album’s origins trace back nearly a decade to 2016, when Ndegeocello performed at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse as part of their annual showcase honoring Baldwin. The year prior, she had delved into Baldwin’s work, including the seminal nonfiction book The Fire Next Time, which she describes as “life-changing” and a “spiritual text” she carries with her. “It was just a revelation to me, and it softened my heart in so many ways,” Ndegeocello says.
In his album liner notes, Hilton Als writes, “Inspired by Baldwin’s most well-known essay, Ndegeocello’s piece—often staged as a church service—employs music, sermon, text, images, and movement, all of which enter into conversation with Baldwin’s monumental and delicate essay about how black bodies were perceived not only by white Americans but by blacks themselves. The music you hear in No More Water is Jimmy talking to Meshell and his words meeting the language of her sounds and then coming out again through a multitude of voices, a multitude of sounds and thoughts that bring Jimmy back and give him—finally—his whole and true self, that which he offered up, time and again, if only we knew then how to listen.”
Thematically, the album moves like a procession in a Black church—baptism, testimony, worship/praise, and ultimately, resurrection. The opening track and lead single, “Travel,” brings listeners inside the mind of a man with suicidal thoughts, a recurring motif in Baldwin’s work. Setting a dystopian mood, Julius Rodriguez’s organ and Chin’s echoing incantations usher in Justin Hicks’ ominous vocals: “I’ll stay away with all the work to be done/I’ll be bleeding while you bake in the sun.”
James_Baldwin | Photo by Allan Warren
The intensity of Chin’s unaccompanied words on “Raise The Roof” captures the stark and harrowing reality of pervasive racism: “It must be in the fucking water being force-fed to the police, the prosecutor and the politicians who care nothing for Black bodies falling like leaves in late August…in Ferguson…in Cleveland…in Staten Island, only minutes away from where my own child sits, watching The Muppets take over Manhattan.”
For Ndegeocello, No More Water marks a significant moment of self-discovery. “It came when I was ready to look in the mirror,” she says. “I’ve had to play Plantation Lullabies at a few shows. Looking back, I had an interesting perspective, but the dialogue was limited. It was more like a cathartic experience for a young person of color, whereas now I’m going, ‘How can I get us all to love each other? How can I get us all to see this for what it is?'”
Set for release on August 2, 2024—Baldwin’s centennial—No More Water promises to be a timely and necessary artistic statement. By rendering Baldwin’s words and ideas through her own creative lens, Ndegeocello has crafted a work that transcends genre while confronting harsh realities and posing profound questions about race, identity, and the human experience.
The album’s gestation period alone speaks to its significance and ambition. As Als notes, “The music you hear in No More Water is Jimmy talking to Meshell and his words meeting the language of her sounds and then coming out again through a multitude of voices, a multitude of sounds and thoughts that bring Jimmy back and give him—finally—his whole and true self, that which he offered up, time and again, if only we knew then how to listen.”
With No More Water, Ndegeocello challenges listeners to engage with Baldwin’s vital perspectives through an immersive, multidimensional experience. In doing so, she has created a powerful artistic statement that cements her status as one of our most insightful and uncompromising creative voices.
The full album is due for release om August 2, 2024 however the first two singles, “Travel” & “Raise The Roof”, are now available. If you’re looking to catch this project live, Ndegeocello will perform at the UK’s Love Supreme Jazz Festival & Rotterdam’s North Sea Jazz Festival in July.
Last modified: June 11, 2024
