Ledisi in good place musically, but still evolving

Singer Ledisi performed at the Oct. 16 dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington. Six albums into her career, she says she's ready to branch out creatively.

These days, life for Grammy-nominated songstress Ledisi is pretty good.

"I'm very happy with myself now, so that feels wonderful," she says. "I'm not competing with anybody else; I'm in my own lane and I'm being me."

"That's the only time I've ever had any struggles. Because I realized I'm a people pleaser by nature. But you can't please all the people that want you in a certain box, whether it's the way I look, or the way I sound. I just have to be who I am first. Hopefully, people will respond to that."

People have been responding enthusiastically as Ledisi undertakes her first full headlining tour, which will stop at Memphis' Cannon Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday.

"I have six albums worth of material, so we've had to come up with a set list that won't disappoint any fans, because everyone has their favorite version of Ledisi," says the New Orleans-born and Oakland-raised singer. "We're focused on the new album, Pieces of Me, but we're also integrating the other things I've done too."

Released in March, Pieces of Me is Ledisi's most realized work to date and another step in an evolution that's seen her go from musical theatre to studying opera to a decadelong solo career as one of the more artistically pure proponents of neo-soul and R&B.

"It feels like it's a new voice every time I make a record. As I grow, my music grows," she says.

"I do music naturally. I don't make music in a planned environment or in a planned way. I write down how I feel and flow with that. That way it's more natural, it's authentic and people feel it. That's why I think I get the response I get. Because what I express is honest and uninhibited."

For Ledisi music has been a constant. Her parents, both New Orleans musicians, were the pre-eminent influences in her early life. But it's been a free-flowing musical eclecticism that's come to define her work.

"The way I started was not like the traditional R&B singer, who begins in the church," she says.

"I started listening to a lot of pop music first: I grew up on the Beatles and I was hearing a lot of opera, and then jazz and gospel I learned way later. But I need all of that to make up who I am now."

Half a dozen albums into her career Ledisi says she's ready to branch out creatively. She wants to release a live album, do a traditional jazz record, and ultimately pursue a gospel career as well. "Oh, and don't forget hip-hop," she adds. "I want to open up all the sides of me that haven't really been seen."

"That's why I love someone like Aretha Franklin," says Ledisi. "She was able to do whatever style of music she wanted to do. I hope I get to exercise those kinds of muscles too. That's why I called this album Pieces of Me; it's not all of who I am or what I can be."

What Ledisi will be next is a published author. She's been working on an inspirational memoir set to come out next year. A career as a writer -- an author and a songwriter -- is something that clearly appeals to her.

"I really would like to write songs for other people at some point. I'd like to step back into the shadows. As a performer, the limelight is so intense, and I love and enjoy it, but ultimately, I'd like to take a break from it."

But not before adding to an already impressive catalog, says Ledisi.

"I'm proud of the entire body of work, not one record but the whole thing. That's what I want to leave behind -- a collection of songs and records that mean something to me; that mean something to a lot of people, hopefully."

Ledisi

Saturday, 8 p.m. at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 N. Main Street. Tickets: $45 to $55. Available at the box office, ticketmaster.com or (800) 745-3000.

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