The first time I heard Nina Simone was in 1987 on a BBC radio station singing My Baby Just Cares For Me. At the time, I was stationed in Northern Germany. The small village I lived in was near a large British Garrison at Bergen-Hohne, so I could pick up all the BBC radio stations.
The song was from her 1959 debut album Little Girl Blue.
Thanks to movie director Ridley Scott dusting it off for a 1987 Chanel No. 5 TV commercial, featuring Bond Girl Carole Bouquet, the song was making a surprise resurgence three decades after it was first recorded. Here’s the commercial:
I liked the song, but it really didn’t spark immediate interest in her music. That spark would happen slowly, over time, as I’d hear one of her songs in some random places or on a late-night radio program somewhere - songs that would stick in my mind.
In 1954, Eunice Waymon’s acceptance into the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia was sadly rejected. To make ends meet, she played piano recitals in the Philadelphia area, like this one:
That same year, in need of more money, she took a job playing piano at the Atlantic City dive, Midtown Bar & Grill; however, in order to keep the job, the owner insisted that she also sing. To keep her playing undetected by her mother, who would accuse her of singing the “devil’s music”, Eunice Waymon adopted a stage name, Nina Simone.
This week, on that Big River called Jazz, I’ll feature some of my favorite Nina Simone songs.
Nina Simone was an accomplished piano player before she became a singer, and I have always been fond of her piano playing. In fact, I think no other album features her piano playing more than her debut album, Little Girl Blue, which features three piano instrumental tracks.
From that same debut album, I’ve always liked her version of the great Gershwin song, I Loves You Porgy:
Stunning. She was such a genius at the piano. This song gives me goosebumps each time I hear it, even after all these years.
On her 1965 album I Put a Spell on You, Simone features another great piano instrumental song:
From that album here is Blues On Purpose:
On our journey last week, we listened to how Roland Kirk interpreted the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune If I Loved You from his Bright Moments album. In much the same way, I like how Nina Simone interpreted the classic Jule Styne, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green show tune Just In Time.
Just In Time was introduced by Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin’s son, in the 1956 Broadway musical Bells Are Ringing, directed by Jerome Robbins and choreographed by Robbins and the great Bob Fosse.
Although it has been recorded over the years by so many great singers from Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland, to Barbara Streisand, the version I like best is Nina Simone’s from Nina Simone at the Village Gate, recorded in 1961 on the Colpix label:
Here is Nina Simone live at the Village Gate singing Just In Time:
Such a wonderful song. I think this song really highlights Simone’s exceptional piano playing. I just love her left hand pounding out the chords while that right hand just goes to work in her jazzy/classical style that epitomizes her sound.
In 2021, BMG released Nina Simone: The Montreux Years, which spotlights all five of her performances at Montreux.
Her first appearance was in 1968, the second edition of the festival, recorded live at the beautiful Casino Kursaal.
Here is To Love Somebody from that concert:
I wouldn’t have thought anyone could ever effectively cover this Bee Gees song, but I love Simone’s interpretation.
The Bee Gees released To Love Somebody in 1967 on their first international album Bee Gees’ 1st - their first two albums were distributed only in Australia and New Zealand.
Interestingly, according to Robin Gibb, he and Barry wrote To Love Somebody for Otis Redding, who had visited them at The Plaza in New York City. Robin recalls, “Otis Redding said he loved our material and would Barry write him a song.” So they wrote To Love Somebody. Unfortunately, Redding died in a plane crash later that year, before having a chance to record the song. Simone released her version of the song as the title track on her 1969 album To Love Somebody.
It’s amazing to me the similarity on this album of Simone’s version of the Bee Gees’ To Love Somebody to her version of Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released, which Dylan recorded later the same year the Bee Gees’ song came out.
Here’s one more for the road. Again, from her appearance at the 1968 Montreux Jazz Festival, here is I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free:
It only seems appropriate to end with this song, one of the great Freedom Songs of the mid-1960s. I think this is a song we all need to listen to as Black Music Month comes to a close.
Next week on that Big River called Jazz, we’ll dig our paddles in and explore the waters of French saxophonist Barney Wilen.
Coffee time, my dreamy friend, it's coffee time
Let's listen to some jazz and rhyme
And have a cup of coffee
Let me show a little coffee house I know
Where all the new Bohemians go
To have a cup of coffee
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Until then, keep on walking….