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Jazz Articles about Nina Simone
Fire Music: When Jazz Speaks Out - Part 2
by Ludovico Granvassu
In the second part of this special dedicated to jazz and civil rights [for the first part click here] we look into music inspired by the bloody events that marked the advancement of the civil rights movement, the names of the victims of ongoing brutality. The playlist included tunes which incorporate the words or the cadence of Martin Luther King, are introduced by Jesse Jackson or celebrate Malcolm X, as well as songs that were played to draw attention to ...
read moreNina Simone: Fodder On My Wings
by Karl Ackermann
Nina Simone found success from the beginning of her recording career in 1959. With the release of Nina Simone at Town Hall (Colpix), her third album that year, she became a fixture on the downtown New York club scene. Her life and career took a different turn not long afterward. Simone's activism in the Civil Rights Movement deepened in the 1960s as a reaction to the assassination of Medgar Evers and the fatal bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church ...
read moreI Sing Just to Know I'm Alive - Happy Birthday to Nina Simone
by Mary Foster Conklin
This week we focus on new releases from pianist Jen Allen, vocalists Rosemary Loar, Simone Kopmajer, Casey Abrams and Ian Shaw, plus birthday shout outs to Nina Simone in the first hour (who also has a new single out), flutists Nicole Mitchell and Mayu Saeki, vocalists Nancy Wilson, Anne Phillips, Kellye Gray and Shirley Crabbe, violinist Sara Caswell and saxophonist Jessica Jones. Playlist Jessica Jones “For the Cats on the Continent" from Continuum (Reva Records) 00:00 Casey Abrams ...
read moreSimply Nina: A look back at the illustrious career of jazz legend Nina Simone
by Ava Louise
It is fitting that after a month dedicated to Jazz Appreciation, we come to the work of Nina Simone. Arguably one of the most talented jazz artists, Nina garners high praise across many demographics. What made her such an influential musician and vocalist? Her voice was deep with a richness and emotive intensity that made her singing unforgettable. She played and sang with an intensity that was and is unmatched. There was an explosiveness of emotion that was ...
read moreThe Politics of Dancing: Jazz and Protest, Part 1
by Karl Ackermann
In 1964, Civil Rights workers, known as Freedom Riders, were increasingly becoming the victims of violent attacks from the Ku Klux Klan as they initiated a program to register black voters in the Deep South. As members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the advocates were franticly racing against time in an effort to send representatives to the 1964 Democratic National Convention to push the party agenda toward a Voter's Rights Act. ...
read moreMontreux Through The Decades: Blues, Soul & Funk Recordings, Part 1
by Ian Patterson
As part of All About Jazz' tribute to Montreux Jazz Festival, which is celebrating its 50th edition in 2016, and to its founder, the late Claude Nobs, this second batch of live recordings features ten memorable blues, soul and funk concerts captured between 1973 and 2004. The first batch featured ten jazz recordings from concerts between 1968 and 2012, while a third batch will feature rock, folk and pop recordings. Albert King Blues at Sunrise: ...
read moreWhat Happened, Miss Simone?: A Biography
by Nenad Georgievski
What Happened, Miss Simone? Alan Light 320 Pages ISBN: 1101904879 Atria 2016 It was singer and poet Gil Scott-Heron who said that Nina Simone was black way before it was fashionable to be black. A controversial and indisputable music icon and celebrity, her unique blend of jazz, pop and soul made her one of the most compelling voices in music history. She was equally known for her interpretations of other people's songs, that ...
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