May 04, 2006 @ 12:46 pm

Nina Simone: Revisited

by: Carlos O. Gardinet

right Playing tribute to Nina Simone’s legendary event, Simone was accompanied by Al Schackman and the original Nina Simone band. Playing classic tunes such as “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” “I Love You Porgy,” and “The Other Woman,” Simone transported the audience back in time. She added more sassiness and an upbeat flare to the initial recording because according to daughter Simone, “it was just too ballad heavy for me.”

Despite the difference in voices (Simone has more of a lighter, higher range than her mother’s raspy baritone pitch), the evening was pretty exceptional. Another difference is stage presence and movement - if you ever saw Nina Simone in concert you’d notice that she never really left the piano unless she’d decided to exit the stage or get up to hush the crowd. Daughter Simone, employing her theater background (she starred in Aida and Rent) fully took command of the entire stage as she glided from side-to-side and jumped up and down as preachers often do in gospel revivals.

Yet, regardless of the kinship and great attempt by Simone to allow lovers of her mother’s music the opportunity to relive and enjoy such poignant and transformative songs, one couldn’t help but wish Nina Simone would have miraculously reappeared.