NINA SIMONE - Classic Hits
JAZZ IMAGES 38025
Nina Simone (v,p), Jimmy Bond, Chris White (b), Albert Heath. Bobby Hamilton (d), Al Shackman (el gtr)
Nina Simone led a difficult, up and down existence as a performer after her hopes of becoming a concert pianist failed when she was rejected by the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia after years of study. She claimed she was denied access to the school because she was African- American. I Loves You Porgy comes from her first album, recorded for the Bethlehem label in 1957. It was in the late fifties that she began recording and performing as a pianist/ vocalist and the above track went into the Top twenty pop hits chart; the only one she ever had.
There are 17 tracks on offer here, described by the record company as Classic Hits and certainly they are representative of some of her best recorded work. The programme is made up of pieces recorded at NYC Town Hall, in the studio for Bethlehem and at the Village Gate club in New York. Two tracks come from her performance at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival. You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To is from Newport and has sparse accompaniment from Shackman, White and Hamilton. This is mainly an instrumental which, no doubt, she thought would be more suitable for a jazz festival. All of these tracks straddle the worlds of jazz, folk and gospel. As indeed did Ms Simone’s career throughout. She always gave a dramatic reading of all her material and this collection is a good example of her overall style. Very good support from Bond and Heath in particular and a strong variety of material. In the end though, you either love her music or hate it with little in between. I’ve personally always found her fascinating without ever working out where she fits as a musician—jazz, gospel, folk, pop, take your pick.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
JAZZ IMAGES 38025
Nina Simone (v,p), Jimmy Bond, Chris White (b), Albert Heath. Bobby Hamilton (d), Al Shackman (el gtr)
Nina Simone led a difficult, up and down existence as a performer after her hopes of becoming a concert pianist failed when she was rejected by the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia after years of study. She claimed she was denied access to the school because she was African- American. I Loves You Porgy comes from her first album, recorded for the Bethlehem label in 1957. It was in the late fifties that she began recording and performing as a pianist/ vocalist and the above track went into the Top twenty pop hits chart; the only one she ever had.
There are 17 tracks on offer here, described by the record company as Classic Hits and certainly they are representative of some of her best recorded work. The programme is made up of pieces recorded at NYC Town Hall, in the studio for Bethlehem and at the Village Gate club in New York. Two tracks come from her performance at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival. You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To is from Newport and has sparse accompaniment from Shackman, White and Hamilton. This is mainly an instrumental which, no doubt, she thought would be more suitable for a jazz festival. All of these tracks straddle the worlds of jazz, folk and gospel. As indeed did Ms Simone’s career throughout. She always gave a dramatic reading of all her material and this collection is a good example of her overall style. Very good support from Bond and Heath in particular and a strong variety of material. In the end though, you either love her music or hate it with little in between. I’ve personally always found her fascinating without ever working out where she fits as a musician—jazz, gospel, folk, pop, take your pick.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
