Featured in Michael Fremer's Heavy Rotation in the June 2012 Issue of Stereophile!
Experience the powerful and persuasive voice of Nina Simone Live from 1961! 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl from Pure Pleasure Records! Pressed at Pallas in Germany!
In the intimate ambiance of The Village Gate, Nina Simone made pure magic with her voice and on the keyboard, one Manhattan evening back in 1961. She sang and played with a trio, which featured her favorite guitarist, Al Shackman. We are so fortunate that the moment was captured and recorded.
"I can't really categorize Nina's sound or her music and call her "just" a fabulous jazz vocalist. Although, she plays extraordinary jazz with her voice, as in "Just In Time." She has been often called a musical anomaly, because there is no one category for her work. She was trained as a classical pianist, and in cuts like "Bye Bye Blackbird," the complexity of her piano comes through loud and clear. Her folk songs, like the biting "House Of The Rising Sun," and "Zungo" an African work song, place her at the top of a long list of folk singers. Ms. Simone's gospel songs, i.e., "Children Go Where I Send You," can raise the roof and bring down the house, as she did at the Gate in '61. She is a protest singer, "Brown Baby," and an actress, capable of an extraordinary range of emotions.
Nina has the rare ability to dig into her material and bring unexpected meaning to familiar lyrics. She is eclectic with her taste and her repertoire. But whatever touches Nina, and whatever Nina touches, will reach you and evoke an emotional response. Her music is as fresh today, as it was 42 years ago, singing for that Manhattan audience. They could not have loved her more then, than we do now." - Jana L. Perskie
"Embracing the jazz cultures awareness of African culture, Zunga is revelatory. A chant-based work song from West Africa, Simone pieces together a lighthearted piano intro before morphing into the steady pulse of the number. It is difficult to compare this singer with others. She is truly unique, like a singing method actor. Her spirituality is always on display, especially on tracks like If He Changed My Name and Children Go Where I Send You. Nina Live At The Village Gate exudes a raw energypartly due to the live, in-person vinyl sonicsthat brings a definitive spotlight to a jazz pioneer." - Robbie Gerson, www.audaud.com, 4.5 Stars!!
Features:
180 Gram Vinyl
Limited Edition
Pressed at Pallas in Germany
Audiophile Re-Mastering
Re-mastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios
Musicians:
Nina Simone - piano & vocals
Al Schackman -guitar
Chris White - bass
Bob Hamilton - drums
Selections:
Side 1:
1. Just In Time
2. He Was Good For Me
3. House Of The Rising Sun
4. Bye Bye Blackbird
Side 2:
1. Brown Baby
2. Zungo
3. If He Changed My Name
4. Children Go where I Send You
Recorded in New York City in 1961.
Experience the powerful and persuasive voice of Nina Simone Live from 1961! 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl from Pure Pleasure Records! Pressed at Pallas in Germany!
In the intimate ambiance of The Village Gate, Nina Simone made pure magic with her voice and on the keyboard, one Manhattan evening back in 1961. She sang and played with a trio, which featured her favorite guitarist, Al Shackman. We are so fortunate that the moment was captured and recorded.
"I can't really categorize Nina's sound or her music and call her "just" a fabulous jazz vocalist. Although, she plays extraordinary jazz with her voice, as in "Just In Time." She has been often called a musical anomaly, because there is no one category for her work. She was trained as a classical pianist, and in cuts like "Bye Bye Blackbird," the complexity of her piano comes through loud and clear. Her folk songs, like the biting "House Of The Rising Sun," and "Zungo" an African work song, place her at the top of a long list of folk singers. Ms. Simone's gospel songs, i.e., "Children Go Where I Send You," can raise the roof and bring down the house, as she did at the Gate in '61. She is a protest singer, "Brown Baby," and an actress, capable of an extraordinary range of emotions.
Nina has the rare ability to dig into her material and bring unexpected meaning to familiar lyrics. She is eclectic with her taste and her repertoire. But whatever touches Nina, and whatever Nina touches, will reach you and evoke an emotional response. Her music is as fresh today, as it was 42 years ago, singing for that Manhattan audience. They could not have loved her more then, than we do now." - Jana L. Perskie
"Embracing the jazz cultures awareness of African culture, Zunga is revelatory. A chant-based work song from West Africa, Simone pieces together a lighthearted piano intro before morphing into the steady pulse of the number. It is difficult to compare this singer with others. She is truly unique, like a singing method actor. Her spirituality is always on display, especially on tracks like If He Changed My Name and Children Go Where I Send You. Nina Live At The Village Gate exudes a raw energypartly due to the live, in-person vinyl sonicsthat brings a definitive spotlight to a jazz pioneer." - Robbie Gerson, www.audaud.com, 4.5 Stars!!
Features:
180 Gram Vinyl
Limited Edition
Pressed at Pallas in Germany
Audiophile Re-Mastering
Re-mastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios
Musicians:
Nina Simone - piano & vocals
Al Schackman -guitar
Chris White - bass
Bob Hamilton - drums
Selections:
Side 1:
1. Just In Time
2. He Was Good For Me
3. House Of The Rising Sun
4. Bye Bye Blackbird
Side 2:
1. Brown Baby
2. Zungo
3. If He Changed My Name
4. Children Go where I Send You
Recorded in New York City in 1961.
