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VOL 3. NO. 23 Monday, October 25 - Sunday, November 6, 2004
AFRICA
AGAINST THE GRAIN
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HIP HOP/R&B
The High Priestess of Soul Makes Rare Concert Appearance
By Avonie BROWN

Nina Simone, Photo by Javier Collados

She was born Eunice Waymon in Tryon, N.C., the sixth of seven children. The family quickly recognized her musical talents as the child prodigy could play the piano by the time she was four. Because they were too poor to afford all the training she would need to nurture her talent her music teacher helped by setting up a fund.

She would ultimately study classical music at the Julliard School of Music in New York. But in an effort to help support her family financially, she started working as an accompanist and later added singing to her repertoire. With this new foray into show business she changed her name to Nina (meaning "little one") and took the last name Simone from the French actress Simone Signoret.

Today she is the Grand Dame of music and has even been dubbed the "High Priestess of Soul." As a pianist, singer, arranger and composer, Simone is the ultimate storyteller as she has documented the African-American experience in song. Her vast repertoire includes the blues, classical music, folk songs, gospel, jazz standards as well as songs from musicals and operas. And while her music flows through wide range of themes and emotions, her social commentaries have been stamped on my consciousness.

There is "Mississippi Goddam" written in 1963 after the bombing of the church in Birmingham killed four black little girls. When she later tackle the issue of color among black women in the song "Four Women" it was declared an insult to black people and banned on radio stations in New York and Philadelphia. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated she wrote "Why? The King of Love is Dead."

Many would agree that next to Billy Holiday, Simone's rendition of "Strange Fruit" is one of the most haunting. The timbre in her voice so effectively captures the rawness and the violence of lynching that it still gives me the chills when I listen to it. But it was her song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," inspired by Lorraine Hansberry's play of the same name, that held the spotlight transfixed on Simone. In fact, the song became a black national anthem of sorts.

Like many of our musical elders Simone felt forced to escape the racism in this country. So in 1974 she moved first to Barbados but since then she has lived in Liberia, Switzerland and The Netherlands and currently resides in the South of France.

Last May, As part of her Millennium Tour, Simone made a rare concert appearance at Constitution Hall. While I'm privileged to cover many great performances and performers, this one was profoundly important and ranks among my best concert memories. While the name Nine Simone may mean nothing to much of today's audiences weaned on the mind-numbing pop drivel ala Sisqo and Destiny's Child, this Grande Dame is a study in grace and authentic, uncompromising talent. As she lead the capacity crowd through one classic song after another, she peppered each song with anecdotes and witticisms that held us transfixed and wanting more.

On Saturday, June 23 at 8 p.m. Nine Simone will once again perform at Constitution Hall. Tickets are $37.50 & $52.50 and are available through all Ticketmaster outlets. Call 800-551-SEAT.

To comment on this or any other article written by Avonie Brown email avonie@metroconnection.info.

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