Back to love: Judith Sephuma on legacy, music and the long road home

The first thing Judith Sephuma tells me is that she hasn’t really stopped moving.

We’re speaking in the aftermath of yet another busy weekend of performances, the kind that have defined much of her life for more than two decades. And even now, with a new album out, her calendar is shaped by the stage rather than the studio.

“We have been performing,” she says, her voice warm, measured, familiar. “But not for the album.”

It’s a curious thing to hear from an artist who...