Meshell Ndegeocello

NEW ALBUM (OCTOBER 2026): SYNONYM

Bassist and singer-songwriter, Meshell Ndegeocello is one of the most influential musicians of the past thirty years. Often described as an heir to Prince and as one of the pioneers of the neo-soul movement (alongside her fellow artist Erykah Badu), her richly diverse musical universe embraces the whole spectrum of Great Black Music and beyond, extending into folk and rock. Her most recent albums are absolute examples of perfection in terms of arrangements and production: this was the case with Ventriloquism, critically acclaimed in 2018, and more recently with The Omnichord Real Book, released in 2023 on Blue Note, which won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album, as well as the Album of the Year award from France’s Jazz News / Jazz Magazine.

Following The Omnichord Real Book in 2023, she had already paid tribute to the free-jazz Pharaoh Sun Ra on the album Red Hot & Ra – The Magic City, and to activist writer James Baldwin through the work No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin. Meshell Ndegeocello continues her musical explorations at the heart of American culture with her third album for the renowned Blue Note label.

On Synonym, the multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and producer has created an ambitious musical tapestry by reimagining songs from a diverse range of styles by Sonny & Cher, The Human League, Roberta Flack, Bob Dylan, and the 1987 duet by Aretha Franklin and George Michael, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), which she transforms into a downtempo soul ballad alongside singer Cynthia Erivo. From 1960s folk to soul, country and pop of the 1970s, through the R&B and electro-boogie of the 1980s, alternative rock of the early 1990s and hip-hop of the early 2000s, the bassist draws on a remarkably broad spectrum of musical styles.

With a desire to embrace a more collective approach, the activist producer has surrounded herself with a true constellation of artists, including Cat Power, Brandi Carlile, Chaka Khan, Bill Callahan, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Destin Conrad, Willow, Robert Glasper, Nick Hakim, Madison Cunningham, Laura Lee of Khruangbin, Chris Thile, Lizz Wright, Emily King, Evann Mcintosh and Ink. An impressive cast worthy of Meshell Ndegeocello’s talent, complemented by a loyal team of collaborators including drummers Abe Rounds and Deantoni Parks, guitarist Chris Bruce, keyboardists Jake Sherman, Jebin Bruni and Larry Goldings, saxophonists Josh Johnson and Levon Henry, flutist Elena Pinderhughes, and banjo player Bela Fleck.