Jazz Articles about Nina Simone

About Nina Simone

Under the Radar

The Politics of Dancing: Jazz and Protest, Part 1

by Karl Ackermann
March 20, 2017

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. ...

Multiple Reviews

Montreux Through The Decades: Blues, Soul & Funk Recordings, Part 1

by Ian Patterson
July 10, 2016

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: ...

Book Review

What Happened, Miss Simone?: A Biography

by Nenad Georgievski
March 15, 2016

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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Film Review

Jazz Icons Series 3: Nina Simone Live in '65 and '68

by C. Michael Bailey
November 1, 2008

Nina SimoneJazz Icons Series 3: Live in '65 and '68 Jazz Icons 2008

Savage Dignity. Nina Simone is singular among jazz musicians. She had a vocal delivery that was more Charlie Patton than, say, Shirley Horn. Her cover of Bob Dylan's “The Ballad of Hollis Brown," presented on Jazz Icons Series 3: Nina Simone Live in '65 and '68, is a microcosm of Simone's performance style: kinetic, forceful, and emotionally intense to ...

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Album Review

Nina Simone: To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story

Read "To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story" reviewed by Tom Greenland

by Tom Greenland
September 25, 2008

There was only one Nina Simone, an original and highly imaginative artist whose style embodied a wide range of influences from musical Americana and beyond. To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story (three CDs and a DVD) is a fine boxed set overview of her career, emphasizing the live performances where she was most in her element. Culling material from her Bethlehem, Colpix, Philips, RCA, PM, CTI and Elektra recordings, To Be Free is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging of ...

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Profile

Nina Simone: High Priestess of Soul

by Shannon J. Effinger
September 4, 2008

“I insist on being not one of your clowns, but one of you," she commands of her French audience early on in her performance. When Nina Simone walks out onto the stage, the first word that comes to mind is: regal. “I am a queen," she proudly announces. Her black wrap dress is simple and minimalist. Her silver necklace, a gift from a man who lives in Greece, is modest and beautiful--she pulls attention towards it on more than one ...

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Album Review

Nina Simone: Remixed & Reimagined

Read "Remixed & Reimagined" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
January 13, 2007

Mixing any recording can be an adventure. Most popular dance club music varies greatly from what the individual artist laid down. With nearly all recorded music, however, the featured artist has an opportunity to listen to and approve the final mix. The objective is to make the artist sound his or her very best. Through a lot of hard work, this usually works out fine.

This Legacy release of Nina Simone's work keeps her voice and her music ...