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DOWNBEAT
Jim Macnie
September 1, 2005
* * *
Meshell Ndegeocello's version of rock was wide enough to include John Mellencamp, so why shouldn't her version of jazz include Brian Eno and George Clinton? Make that Eno and Clinton filtered through a Joe Zawinul lens and nudged into a dark corner to do the nasty. The mercurial tone poems and feisty funk arias that define Dance Of The Infidel build their rich atmosphere on keyboard-flavored ambience and slow-burning groove gaits, which actually allude to the artist's previous, more song-oriented work. Those who soaked up the sounds on Bitter, Cookie and Comfort Woman probably had an inkling this mostly instrumental joint was on its way.
Good for Ndegeocello, who is nothing if not intrepid. She's tried out for Living Colour, experimented on Madonna's dime and made a prickly melange out of every valuable strain of the African-American diaspora. Naysayers might score points by deeming Dance Of The Infidel to be a quiet storm run amuck, but as the fireworks of Kenny Garrett, Don Byron and Oliver Lake flash by, it's obvious that the bassist isn't afraid of turning up the heat.
This is music with a yen for excursion. On the 12-minute "Al-Falaq 113" the nonet starts simple, enhances the action with intertwined statements by Garrett, trumpeter Wallace Roney and harmonica whiz Gregoire Maret, and then unties the knot with an insightful fade out. Echoing Miles Davis' electric trips, it's not the most original stuff in the world. But a true groove and plenty of panache help the piece transcend its formula.
Two vocal pieces—"Aquarium" and "The Chosen"—sustain the program's dreamy slant. On the latter, Cassandra Wilson coos her way through an erotic valentine with near-religious intensity. Ndegeocello is arranging atmospheres on this album; utterly nuanced piano and guitar lines prance above the bass and drum groove, making her minimalist tendencies glow with emotional power. Even Lalah Hathaway's bluesy "Heaven" is made memorable by a less-is-more approach.
The minimalism doesn't stop there. On some pieces, Ndegeocello doesn't show up at all, giving the bass chair over to Matthew Garrison. In a way it's a statement of authority: My compositions will speak for me. As she nudges the CTI esthetic into a modern context, her music has enough elan to make you agree.
CREATIVE LOAFING
Mark Anthony Neal
August 24-30, 2005
* * * *
Often enigmatic, Meshell Ndegeocello's music has also been stridently political, though she distances herself from the idea that she's even fit to offer such commentary. This is perhaps appropriate for an artist who has viewed herself more as healer than agitator; more mystic than intellectual.
It should be no surprise then that on Ndegeocello's latest recording, Dance of the Infidel, she withdraws to the background, allowing the genius of first rate improvisators like Kenny Garrett, Oliver Lake, Don Byron, Wallace Roney, and Jack Dejohnette to work the supple musical landscape that she facilitates.
Highlights include "Al Falaq 113" (a product of her recent conversion to Islam) and the title track. The real gems though are the vocal performances of Cassandra Wilson and Lalah Hathaway, particularly the latter's rendition of the standard "When Did You Leave Heaven." "Heaven" shows Donny's baby escaping her legendary father's shadow to come into her own.
ORLANDO SENTINEL
Jim Abbott
June 17, 2005
* * * *
Jamia means "school," which is also a good way to look at how bassist-composer Meshell Ndegeocello approaches making albums.
Over the years, her style has ranged from funk (1996's Peace Beyond Passion) to acoustic (1999's Bitter) to hip-hop, sub and electronica on Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (2002) and Comfort Woman (2003). Along the way, she has paved the way for self-reliant performers such as Erykah Badu and Jill Scott.
Her new album surveys avant-jazz on long, complex songs that recall 1970s-era Miles Davis. The Spirit Music Jamia is actually the name of her core ensemble: drummer Chris Dave, Michael Cain on keyboards, Ron Blake and Oliver Lake on saxes and Jahi Sundance on turntables.
That group is augmented by Ndegeocello on bass (though not on vocals) and a guest list that includes Cassandra Wilson, Lalah Hathaway and Davis alums Kenny
Garrett and Jack DeJohnette. The result is an album driven by freewheeling instrumental solos anchored by inventive grooves that change enough to keep things interesting.
"Al-Falaq-113" is a rhythmically driven excursion that takes almost 13 minutes to reach its climactic conclusion. Garrett's alto sax provides the blunt centerpiece to a pensive composition that segues from melodic to dissonant and back again.
The album reaches its high points when Ndegeocello lets the skilled musicians go. By comparison, the singers sometimes have less to offer.
"Aquarium," featuring vocals by Sabina of the Brazilian Girls, sounds too much like something by Sade, despite oddly syncopated cascading horns that make the middle of the song briefly fascinating.
Wilson distinguishes herself better on "The Chosen," a somber ballad that works well for her smoky alto. When Hathaway closes the album with a beautiful piano blues, "Heaven," it sounds odd next to all the improvisation. At this Dance, singers aren't required.
WASHINGTON POST
Mike Joyce
June 17, 2005
Dance of the Infidel may be the closest Meshell Ndegeocello ever gets to leading a big-band session—or to conjuring and celebrating the fusion jazz legacy of Miles Davis.
The singer-songwriter and bassist is no stranger to collaboration, of course. In the past she's teamed with everyone from Chaka Khan and Prince to Joshua Redman and John Mellencamp. But on her latest release she isn't collaborating so much as serving as a catalyst for the Spirit Music Jamia ensemble. If this group isn't her personal dream team, then it must come awfully close considering the lineup: singers Cassandra Wilson and Lalah Hathaway; drummer Jack DeJohnette; reedmen Kenny Garrett, Don Byron and Oliver Lake; trumpeter Wallace Roney; guitarist Brandon Ross; and several other musicians who freely traverse genres.
The presence of former Davis band members and devoted disciples all but guarantees a familiar melding of modal jazz, funk and blues. What's surprising is that Ndegeocello manages to evoke the trumpeter's fusion work without sounding as if she's using a faded template. She wrote or co-wrote all the tunes, save for the vintage pop ballad "Heaven," leaving lots of space for improvisation and interplay. The longer pieces, particularly "Al-Falaq 113" and "Luqman," are full of interesting twists and turns: Muted blues give way to brash bursts from the horns; loping bass lines and country twang are dramatically offset by darting runs, sophisticated harmonies and skittish rhythms. "Luqman," which features DeJohnette's restless prodding, a soaring, kite-like clarinet improvisation by Byron, and the seemingly ubiquitous chromatic harmonica player Gregoire Maret, is nearly 12 minutes long and never runs out of steam.
Ndegeocello doesn't sing on this largely instrumental session. Instead, Wilson, Hathaway and Sabina (of the Brazilian Girls) take turns at the microphone, with Wilson easily leaving the deepest and most soulful impression.
CURVE
Margaret Coble
October 2005
Fans of openly bisexual Ndegeocello's more commercial funk-soul sound might need to clear their minds of any expectations and just let this disc wash over you. Don't expect to hear Meshell sing, though she does indeed play bass.
Instead, taking a cue from Miles Davis in his groovier late '60s, early '70s period, her larger role with Spirit Music Jamia is that of bandleader and composer, coordinating and showcasing an all-star cast of musicians and vocalists playing what she terms "spiritual groove music." Part improvisational jazz, part jam-style funk, part Afrobeat, and with obvious influences from hip-hop and other dance floor fare, the album moves through cinematic horn-centric electro-jazz soundscapes like the opening "Mu Min" to more traditional jazz improvisations like "Al-Falaq 113," "Papillon" and "Luqman."
It's not all meandering instrumentals, though, with striking vocal offerings from Cassandra Wilson (the smoldering "The Chosen"), Lalah Hathaway (the album-punctuating ballad "When Did You Leave Heaven"), and Brazilian Girls' lead singer Sabina (the sultry, trip-hopping liquid-soul charmer "Aquarium," clearly the album's most accessible cut) holding the disc's eight tracks together.
EBONY
July 1, 2005
Meshell Ndegeocello returns to the stage with a smooth jazz recording that showcases her many talents and versatility. For Dance Of The Infidel, she pulls elements from jazz, R&B, funk, reggae and electronica, while showcasing her all-star band: Spirit Music Jamia. The singer-songwriter steps aside as a vocalist this time while presenting intriguing performances by Cassandra Wilson on the loving, longing "The Chosen," Lalah Hathaway on the bluesy "Heaven," and Sabina (of the Brazilian Girls) on the whimsical "Aquarium." Through it all, Ndegeocello demonstrates her mastery of the bass and her strength as a producer.
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BILLBOARD
Philip Van Vleck
July 9, 2005
* * * *
This is one of the most ambitious and extraordinary projects we're likely to hear in 2005. Ndegeocello had a hand in composing all but one of the tunes, and she invited an exciting group of musicians to help her realize her compositions, including Don Byron, Mino Cinelu, Cassandra Wilson, Jack DeJohnette and Lalah Hathaway. The primary vibe is that of soulful jazz that touches base with the blues ("Heaven") and frequently spins off compelling freeform solos. Most tracks offer a deft balance between melodicism and abstraction. But every song plays by its own rules and holds a full measure of intrigue. A wonderful listening experience.
JAZZ TIMES
Andrew Lindemann Malone
July/August 2005
There is great music, and then there is good music that is great at accomplishing a specific task. The latter can be found on Dance of the Infidel, the first album from bassist/inveterate explorer Meshell Ndegeocello's new band Spirit Music Jamia: It stands a chance of being the finest chillout record of 2005.
Ndegeocello formed Spirit Music Jamia in order to settle back into the mix and cross up influences from funk, jazz, Afrobeat and electronic dance music. You'd think that influences like that would create a barnburner of a record, but instead Ndegeocello has written a bunch of seductively slow jams with precise, deep grooves mixed way below the horn solos and washes of electronic sound above. Sabina (one of Verve's Brazilian Girls) laments a cloistered life in "Aquarium," but the ethereal electronic warblings and the echo around her voice make it sound more pretty than tragic. "Papillon" and "Dance of the Infidel" both run on languid bass and free, detached solos from saxophonists Kenny Garrett and, on the latter, Oran Coltrane, while "Al-Falaq 113" and "Lugman" speed up a little bit but never get rambunctious. Admittedly, pure excitement goes missing, but by the time Lalah Hathaway's ripe take on "When Did You Leave Heaven?" has ended, your pulse rate (whatever it was) will have slowed considerably—a result as unexpected as it is welcome.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aimee Maude Sims
June 24, 2005
* * * ½
You may not hear the voice of Meshell Ndegeocello on her most recent disc, but sonically, she's everywhere. On Dance of the Infidel, Ndegeocello forces all her genre-bending attitude through the funnel of jazz and ends up with material reminiscent of Miles Davis' and John Coltrane's work.
Ndegeocello has assembled some of her favorite artists for her Spirit Music Jamia ensemble. Lalah Hathaway and Cassandra Wilson are among the vocalists. Horn player Oran Coltrane (son of you-know-who) and pianist Oliver Lake are on the roster of instrumentalists.
The arrangements are built from the bass line up and indelibly bear Ndegeocello's signature. The tracks alternate in tone between freewheeling improvisation and moody bliss. Sabina (of the Brazilian Girls) ruminates about a love that has her trapped like a fish in an aquarium; "Will you starve me or feed me/I never really know." The pulsating bass line that rocks her fishbowl world comes courtesy Ndegeocello.
Then there are the instrumentals. The title track is imbued with such powerful emotion that you can't even put words to why you feel like crying after it's over. And who locked a screaming, tormented woman in the bell of Kenny Garrett's saxophone? Instrumental anguish soars to new heights in his solo at the end of "Al-Falaq 113."
NEWARK STAR LEDGER
Tad Hendrickson
June 19, 2005
* * *
Using such top-line jazz musicians as Oliver Lake, Jack DeJohnette, Cassandra Wilson and Kenny Garrett, Meshell Ndegeocello creates a sound that recalls the grooves of Miles Davis's early '70s fusion of rock, funk and jazz. But while that music could be hot and visceral, Ndegeocello chills things out here with her typically moody sound—even as she opens the music up so her players can take solos in any number of directions. Interestingly, the bassist/singer/composer doesn't play on two of the eight songs, instead choosing to arrange the lone cover, "Heaven," and let her band handle her song "Al-Falaq 113." Three guest singers are the only vocalists, but this imbues the music with a unique identity of its own—without her usual singing on every song, the album becomes a group effort where the work of all the players is seamlessly woven into a singular musical tapestry.
DALLAS VOICE
Gilbert Garcia
June 17, 2005
Pop stars should never make jazz albums. Period. Set aside the fact that being as popular as possible is the direct opposite of what genuine jazz has always represented. The truth is that no smart pop star would dare take the experimental plunge required of any decent jazz album. As a result, audiences are treated to jazz records in one of two flavors: easy-listening renditions of '40s swing (Rod Stewart's recent comeback attempt, for instance) or an album packed with exceedingly talented players stuck in the three-minute pop
pigeonhole (think of any Sting record).
If ever there's been an exception to prove the rule, it's lesbian funk goddess Meshell Ndegeocello's latest opus, Dance of the Infidel. A dense, avant-garde jazz record featuring an exceptional ensemble, this is an album that certainly won't be confused for easy listening. It may be a stretch to call Dance of the Infidel a proper Meshell Ndegeocello record. In fact, the singer-bassist is curiously absent from most of the album. In her place are a rotating group of musicians, collectively named Spirit Music Jamia, led by Ndegeocello and performing music ostensibly composed by her. Only three of the eight tracks on Dance of the Infidel include vocals, though none sung by Ndegeocello. Singing duties are handled by guests that include Cassandra Wilson and Brazilian Girls vocalist Sabina Sciubba.
If Ndegeocello is absent from this album in person, she more than makes her mark in spirit. A decidedly downtempo record, Dance of the Infidel is centered around the tight grooves and hyperactive bass lines that were the hallmark of her 2003 release, Comfort Woman. The spare keyboards and empty expanses occupied by the horns—including such notables as Kenny Garrett and Oran Coltrane — nail this record as following in the tradition as Miles Davis' later "cool" stage. Though Dance of the Infidel is a tough record to unpack, it does offer an occasional break from the mayhem. "Aquarium," featuring Sciubba on vocals, is probably the most accessible cut, and album closer "Heaven" at least approaches a traditional blues structure. But the most exhilarating moments here aren't tied to any pre-fab structures. Like the best that jazz has to offer, Dance of the Infidel opens up whole worlds if you're willing to give in to its rhythm. To be certain, this is no pop record. And Ndegeocello is no mere pop star.
BOSTON HERALD
Bob Young
June 24, 2005
* * ½
Mercurial bassist Me'shell Ndegeocello oversees a serious jazz-based affair here with guests including Don Byron and Cassandra Wilson. She calls the result "spiritual groove music," and it does percolate along, albeit sometimes a bit somberly. She doesn't sing, which is too bad, and Miles did it better in the '70s, yet Ndegeocello deserves props for reminding us there's absolutely nothing wrong with bending preconceived notions of what jazz can be.
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Karl Stark
June 21, 2005
* *
Singer and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello had her biggest hits - the Plantation Lullabies CD and the "Wild Night" duet with John Mellencamp - over a decade ago.
Yet she remains unbowed, turning here to a jazzier focus that takes Miles Davis' late groups as a model. The lineup is special, including saxophonists Oliver Lake and Kenny Garrett, singer Cassandra Wilson, clarinetist Don Byron, trumpeter Wallace Roney, Sabina Sciubba of Brazilian Girls, and (briefly) drummer Jack DeJohnette. "Heaven" with Donny Hathaway's daughter, Lalah, is among the more traditional cuts, leaning in a gospel and contemporary direction.
Perhaps because she programmed much of the drums in a pedestrian fashion, this groove-based disc becomes an oddly faceless outing that leaves little lasting impression.
DETROIT FREE PRESS
Martin Bandyke
June 21, 2005
*
Well, give her credit for trying something new, even if it falls mostly flat. Funk-soul bassist-vocalist Ndegeocello risks alienating her fan base big time with this too-often formless, tedious, half-baked jazz jam session that for long stretches goes nowhere fast.
Her last album, Comfort Woman, was also a stylistic departure, a trip into the realm of electronica that maintained some sense of structure and stayed just this side of self-indulgent. No such luck on Dance of the Infidel, which largely wastes the talents of such stellar jazzmen as Don Byron, Oliver Lake, Kenny Garrett and Wallace Roney. Case in point are the 11-minute-plus tracks "Al-Falaq 113" and "Papillon," colossally dull offerings in dire need of melodies, cohesive arrangements and, above all, an editor. It's also difficult to imagine many listeners embracing an album that has Ndegeocello performing no vocals and playing bass on only half the tracks.
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ATLANTA JOURNAL & CONSTITUTION
Sonia Murray
June 21, 2005
A-
Fair warning to those who may pick up this album because of the name on the spine: While this is indeed a Meshell Ndegeocello album, it is Meshell Ndegeocello like fans have never heard her before.
In fact, you won't. She doesn't speak or sing on this entire CD.
Instead, Ndegeocello leaves the occasional vocals to the Brazilian Girls' Sabina, who lends wisp and sweetness to the somewhat loopy "Aquarium." Cassandra Wilson beckons huskily, wonderfully, on "The Chosen." And Lalah Hathaway delivers the crisp, piercing, stunner—a cover of "Heaven."
Surprisingly, the exceptional bassist also hands off one of the most prominent bass solos, to fitting substitute Matthew Garrison.
What makes this Ndegeocello's project—beside the producer and composer credits—is its spirit. "Luqman" crackles with the musicianship of her otherwise forgettable last two CDs, Cookie and Comfort Woman. "The Chosen" and "Heaven" are sleepy romancers on par with Ndegeocello's early classic singles "Outside Your Door" and "Stay." And the 11-plus minutes of "Papillon" and "Al-Falaq 113" have all the daring of her mostly acoustic CD Bitter, and more range than she may have exhibited, ever.
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
John Kelman
July 20, 2005
Probably the biggest surprise of guitarist Pat Metheny’s By Invitation series at the recently concluded 26th Montreal Jazz Festival was his late night performance with bassist/vocalist/composer Meshell Ndegeocello. Metheny played with a variety of artists during his four-day, five-show run, but only during his collaboration with Ndegeocello’s band did he actually relinquish leadership. Standing off to the side of the stage, he let the diminutive Ndegeocello dominate—not only in terms of contributing the lion’s share of the music, but also being the most commanding stage presence.
The majority of the music during Ndegeocello’s set came from The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel, demonstrating something that has become increasingly apparent since she first appeared on the scene in ’93. While she made her biggest leap into popular awareness through her funk-based amalgam of hip-hop and soul, jazz has also been a significant part of the equation. With The Spirit Music Jamia Ndegeocello delivers her most concerted effort yet, a nearly all-instrumental album that is more a vehicle for her increasingly astute writing than her playing. Ndegeocello, in fact, only plays bass on four of the album’s eight tracks—relinquishing the more virtuosic demands to Matthew Garrison, although her own playing is never anything less than impressive. She enlists world music artist Sabina, jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson, and urban singer Lalah Hathaway for the three tracks that feature vocals.
The all-star cast includes saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Oliver Lake, trumpeter Wallace Roney, clarinetist Don Byron, emerging harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret, pianist/keyboardist Michael Cain, drummers Jack DeJohnette, Gene Lake, and Chris Dave—plus seemingly countless others. The recording has precedence in Miles’ electric period, as well as Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi band, most notably in the horn-rich ambience of “Mu-Min” and “Luqman.” When Ndegeocello herself plays, her elliptical and unrelentingly insistent sense of groove recalls Michael Henderson, who was so effective in bringing a hypnotic vibe to Miles’ ‘70s work.
While things can and do get heated—most notably on “Al-Falaq 113,” where Garrett delivers a characteristically powerful solo; and on the African-based groove of “Luqman,” where Lake’s inherent unpredictability is exploited to full advantage—much of the album has a more relaxed, at times almost meditative vibe. “Acquarium,” “Papillon,” and the title track, which form the centre section of the album, border on being chill-out music, but they reflect far too much depth in both writing and soloing to be so easily dispensed with. While this is music to relax the spirit, it’s also music that constantly engages the mind.
And while the stylistic purview of The Spirit Music Jamia is wide, the more advanced harmonic and improvisational aspects of it makes it unequivocally a jazz record—and consequently an explicit move in a new direction for Ndegeocello, who reveals greater breadth and depth with each passing year.
ALL ABOUT JAZZ
Kurt Gottschalk
September 18, 2005
Making jazz records is easy. Anyone with half a name and the slightest interest (read: Lea DeLaria and Queen Latifah) can hire a bassist and book a session. You don’t really need any ideas, just a wisp of a voice and a desire to be “moody.”
Fortunately Meshell Ndegeocello is smarter than that. She’s hung with Madonna and the Stones and recorded rock and funk records, but her foray into grownup art (or whatever) is more than a vague sorta Billie redux. Instead she reaches back to ‘80s style integrations of jazz composition and electric instruments, not rehashing the M-BASE Collective but it’s hard to imagine she doesn’t have some of those discs at home.
Ndegeocello doesn’t sing on the record and she only plays bass on a few tracks, but she gets composer credits (sharing the honors on some tracks with Oliver Lake, Don Byron, and others on a few), does some “programming” (another ‘80s nod), and clearly serves as ringleader for the session. Along with Byron and Lake, Jack DeJohnette, Brandon Ross, Kenny Garrett, Wallace Roney, and Gregoire Maret, among others, fill out the band. And it is a band record. Lalah Hathaway and M-BASE alum Cassandra Wilson provide vocals, but most of the tracks are instrumental.
It’s an admirable and clearly heartfelt attempt, even if much of it is burdened by overly bright keyboards and bass. It’s not until the last three tracks that Spirit Music Jamia (the name given to her band) hits its stride. Wilson’s vocals and Ross’ guitar on “The Chosen” make that track a standout. Lake’s solo on “Luqman” justifies the preceding jazz lite, and Hathaway’s take on “Heaven” (also known as “When Did You Leave Heaven,” recorded by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Bob Dylan, Little Jimmy Scott, and Nancy Wilson) provides a nice, if slight, coda for an honest effort.
VILLAGE VOICE
Larry Blumenfeld
August 24-30, 2005
Uncomfortable with her singer-songwriter frontwoman spotlight, Meshell Ndegeocello left her corporate label and kept her mouth shut for these largely improvised tracks. Three tunes showcase vocalists-Sabina (of the Brazilian Girls) on the bossatinged "Aquarium"; Cassandra Wilson on a ballad, "The Chosen"; and Lalah Hathaway for a straight-blues "Heaven"-but these are palate cleansers, the main course being instrumentals that play like a grooved suite.
Ndegeocello's blueprint (jam session constructed atop funk flow, concise melodies burst open) borrows from Miles Davis's later book and Weather Report's best chapter. As did Miles, Ndegeocello gathers masterly players who are composers, in potent combination.
On the brief "Mu-Min," saxophonist Oliver Lake, clarinetist Don Byron, and trombonist Joshua Roseman craft pungent harmonies. On "Al-Falaq 113," solos by trumpeter Wallace Roney, saxophonist Kenny Garrett, and harmonica player Gregoire Maret form an extended narrative. None of this would mean as much outside the roomy rhythmic pockets sewn by bassists Ndegeocello and Matthew Garrison, keyboardist Michael Cain, and drummers Gene Lake, Chris Dave, and Jack Dejohnette. The aesthetic may shout '70s, but the up-front rim shots and electric-bass throbs speak of today. It's jazz values filtered through black pop's sound-what Miles was after 35 years ago.
CHICAGO SUN TIMES
Jeff Johnson
June 5, 2005
* * * ½
Like so many jazz-related projects, Meshell Ndegeocello's new album is billed as a takeoff on Miles Davis' "groove-oriented '70s ensemble." Davis couldn't have made such an album 30 years ago, though, when Afrobeat, hip-hop and funk were either nonexistent or still in their infancy.
The slap bassist wisely eschews her left-leaning raps this time and leaves the vocals in the capable hands of Cassandra Wilson, Lalah Hathaway and the Brazilian Girls' Sabina.
Still, it's the instrumentals that stand out on "Jamia" (an ancient word that means "school"). The core group of drummer Chris Dave, keyboardist Michael Cain, saxophonists Oliver Lake and Ron Blake and turntable artist Jahi Sundance is augmented by such notable guest artists as Davis alums Jack DeJohnette on drums and Kenny Garrett on alto sax. The group is bigger and fuller than the one on the ethereal, trippy Comfort Woman, creating a more muscular sound that does justice to a band led by the bass virtuoso. And the compositions (seven of the eight are Ndegeocello originals) show a newfound depth as well.
VANCOUVER SUN
Marke Andrews
July 19, 2005
* * * *
Vocalist-bassist Meshell Ndegeocello has always been an innovator. Now she steps into the jazz realm with the Spirit Music Jamia, a collection of highly regarded musicians with which she rides in the back seat, playing bass on some numbers, programming certain tracks and co-producing the record.
The three vocal tracks are by others: Cassandra Wilson, Lalah Hathaway and Sabina of the Brazilian Girls. Even the stellar bass solo on "Papillon" comes not from her, but from Matthew Garrison, son of the late jazz bassist Jimmy Garrison.
Matthew Garrison isn't the only child of a famous jazz musician on this date. Oran Coltrane, youngest son of John Coltrane (with whom Jimmy Garrison played), plays saxophone, and his alto solo on the title track captures the probing, restless spirit of his late father. Kenny Garrett, whose style most resembles John Coltrane among the modern players, cuts loose on "Al-Falaq 113," his soprano sax solo going from lyricism to primal scream. Later, during "Papillon," Garrett's soprano rises above the bed of electronics like a voice calling out. Other name players on the disc include Don Byron, who contributes a vibrant clarinet to "Luqman," drummer Jack de Johnette, saxophonists Joshua Redman and Oliver Lake, and trumpeter Wallace Roney. If Ndegeocello is merely passing through the jazz idiom, let's hope she stays a while.
THE GUARDIAN
John L. Waters
March 25, 2005
Meshell Ndegeocello doesn't make a big deal about "fusing hip-hop with jazz", but that's effectively what she does on her new album Dance of the Infidel. Contemporary beats and grooves are always present, as on the short opening track "Mu-Min," but numbers such as "Luqman" and "Al-Falaq 113," each lasting nearly 12 minutes, have the airy spaciousness of late 1960s Miles Davis, with solos by high-octane players such as Wallace Roney, Oliver Lake and man-of-the-moment Gregoire Maret on harmonica. Then there are vocal numbers such as "Aquarium," and another long instrumental, "Papillon," featuring the brilliant Kenny Garrett and Ndegeocello's fellow-bassist Matthew Garrison. This simple quintet track has a level of detail you don't always find on regular jazz dates, such as the finely wrought keyboard sounds over Garrison's bass solo.
Dance of the Infidel is a well produced (if oddly punctuated) and carefully crafted album, sure, but it feels intuitive, too, as if they didn't always choose the "perfect" take, but went for the spirit. Horn soloists such as Roney and Garrett stretch out, sounding right at home here, and Meshell shows herself to be an inspiring composer-bandleader. Though the album is predominantly instrumental, the songs aid its pace, making breathing spaces amidst the frenetic soloing. Lalah Hathaway sings the closing ballad "Heaven"; Cassandra Wilson turns in an appealing vocal on "The Chosen"; and Sabina croons "Aquarium," the album's catchiest tune.
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