| Info: Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Born the sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist as a child. Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. Simone was later told by someone working at Curtis that she was rejected because she was black. She then began playing in a small club in Philadelphia to fund her continuing musical education to become a classical pianist and was required to sing as well. Over the length of her career, Simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958 — when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue — and 1974. Her musical style arose from a fusion of gospel and pop songs with classical music and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in her characteristic low tenor. Her intuitive grasp on the audience-performer relationship was gained from a unique background of playing piano accompaniment for church revivals and sermons regularly from the early age of six years. After 20 years of performing, she became involved in the civil rights movement and the direction of her life shifted once again. Simone's music was highly influential in the fight for equal rights in the US. |
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