NEOSOUL SESSION
Multitalented musician coming to August Wilson Center
Meshell Ndegeocello, the internationally acclaimed bass player, producer, vocalist, spoken-word artist and keyboardist, was born Michelle Lynn Johnson in West Berlin, Germany, and later known as Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur.
On Friday, the Grammy-winning multiinstrumentalist will perform as part of the Soul Sessions series at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in Downtown. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets, $68, are available at awc.culturaldistrict.org.
Her father, Jacques Johnson, was a saxophonist and sergeant major in the U.S. Army. Her mother, Helen, was a health care worker.
Ndegeocello, 54, was raised in Washington, D.C., where she attended the highly regarded Duke Ellington School of the Arts. She now lives in Quebec, Canada, and recently participated in a Q&A interview about her music, instruments and impressions of Pittsburgh.
Q: How did you happen to choose bass guitar?
A: My brother played guitar and he needed a bass player, so it was just one more thing I could do to hang out with him.
Q: Who were your early influences? A: Aston “Family Man” Barrett, Sting, Prince.
Q: Where did you get your piano expertise? Who were your influences?
A: Gosh, I wouldn’t call it expertise! I’m surrounded by such gifted pianists like Robert Glasper, Jason Moran, Julius Rodriguez, Jebin Bruni, Daniel Mintseris. I can’t call myself an expert.
Q: As a bass guitarist myself, I’m familiar with some of big bass guitar brands. Which do you use and why?
A: Well, I have my own model with Reverend and I love it. It fits me in terms of stature, but also is streamlined with minimal knobs and switches which I prefer. I do play a ’63 Fender Jazz as well.
Q: Same question for your amplifiers. A: I like Orange. They’re rugged and refined at the same time. Like me.
Q: I noticed that one of your neosoul colleagues, Raphael Saadiq, happens to use a pick when he plays bass guitar. Do you ever use a pick?
A: It’s not my thing. I need to feel the strings, and so much of my sound comes from hand feel. But it certainly is working for Raphael.
Q: It appears that you prefer playing the four-string bass. Do you ever use anything else?
A: I do not.
Q: Do you play upright double-bass? We have some legendary bassists from Pittsburgh who did — Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Charles Anthony “Buster” Williams and Charlie Mingus.
A: I have, but it’s not the way I best communicate.... I think I have a sound and style that’s distinctly my own so I don’t try to do everything.
Q: Have you played in Pittsburgh? A: Yes, I love Pittsburgh. I love the river and bridges, the [Andy] Warhol museum, the industrial and art vibes. It feels like a very soulful place.
Q: You, being a D.C. native, have you ever played Blues Alley in Georgetown?
A: Of course. My father played Blues Alley frequently and I was there just a couple years ago.
Q: How many pieces will you bring to Pittsburgh? Will you perform your popular compositions like “Barry Farms” or “The Way”?
A: I’ll have a five-piece band, but probably won’t perform “Barry Farms.” But you never know. “The Way” comes in and out of sets. I change things up often, I like to play new stuff but I have learned to make older songs my own again.