Her Biggest Year Yet

Ledisi once was a jazz lady whose name nobody could pronounce. No longer an underground phenom greedily hoarded among music aficionados, Ledisi’s well on her way to becoming one of soul’s greats. More than one person has recently tried to tell me bout that new gal,” Le-dee-cee,” mistakenly believing the two-time 2010 GRAMMY nominee to be a new gal on the scene. But, the spit-shined Ledisi is nobody’s newcomer. She earned her rise by placing one big red stiletto in front of the other, marching confidently all the way.

No Need To Sniff, Your Stuff Don't Stink!

Bay area music lovers have been hearing from Ledisi for a decade or more, enjoying early indie projects like the gritty SoulSinger and the rare, but magnificent Feeling Orange, But Sometimes Blue. Back then she was two, with collaborator Sundra Manning, and hustling her project at local club venues and opening for artists like Rachelle Ferrell, earning her fans one at a time.

There were some stumbles in those trademark stilettos. When things weren’t moving particularly fast and the indie grind of being a label, artist, booking agent and manager almost caused Ledisi to leave the game, but she made some personnel changes, recovered her footing and reclaimed her stride. Then, two became one.

A solo turn and a 2007 PBS show-stealer at the We All Love Ella tribute where Ledisi brought the house down with a rousing “Blues In The Night” proved a game changer, propelling Ledisi’s career into high gear. 

Out Of The Underground She Rose

Signing with Verve certainly helped. With her re-debut,  Lost and Found, boasting “Alright” as a deserved hit, Ledisi moved out of small clubs and into theaters, upscale supper clubs,  and the lucrative festival circuit. Her It’s Christmas album with its breakout cover of Louie Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World” gave a hint of the kind of jazz and blues Ledisi once did with aplomb for the indie circuit and reminded long time fans what we’d been missing.

Her third Verve project Turn Me Loose wasn’t a personal fave (I think she deserved better material and I’d have voted for a few switches in producers); but it was a keeper among this year’s Grammy voters, so what do I know? It’s ascension with urban AC radio and among fans also proved that Ledisi knows exactly what she needed for the road, since the new Turn Me Loose selections have added just the right mix of retro-soul and commercial R&B that her stage show needed to keep audiences in awe.

To see a Ledisi show today is akin to seeing Chaka Khan at the height of her powers: fearless, flawless technical ability, and the passion to match her skill. One doesn’t get compared to Khan, whom Ledisi paid tribute at this year’s Soul Train Awards, by skipping steps or becoming a quick-turn star. You do it just as the lady in the red “come f#%* me” pumps has, one fan at a time.

TAGS: ledisi, Lorenzo Johnson, Rex Rideout, Sundra Manning