Nina At The Village Gate – NINA SIMONE****

Just In Time/He Was Good To Me/House Of The Rising Sun/Bye Bye Blackbird/Brown Baby/Zungo/If He Changed My Name/Children Go Where I Send You

At The Village Gate captures the legendary jazz singer and pianist Nina Simone live with her trio in 1961, still early in her career, at New York City's intimate Village Gate club.

“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, singing and playing with her trio. This is by far my favourite collection of Ms. Simone's music.”

“Nina is putting herself so much into these songs that I become very absorbed by the proceedings. This has a great small club feel, where you can hear the clinking of plates and glasses, and the sporadic murmur of voices. There are some beautiful renditions of a couple standards, a House Of The Rising Sun unlike what I am used to, and Brown Baby which subtly brings to mind the history of that time, and the superb African folk song, Zungo, a nice departure from the jazz and bluesy soul.”

“Don't be put off by the low song count, what's missing in quantity is made up for in quality. The intimacy of Nina's appearance here is captured as she sheds new light on well-worn Broadway standards and unknown songs alike. Her voice was also a bit lighter than it became later on so she hits some high notes easily. As usual her piano playing is great, and she's backed by great sidemen, but they never get in the way of her singing.”

“One thing that's great about this album is that it really showcases her skills as a classically trained concert pianist, though most people know her only as a vocalist and stylist, As much as I love some of her other albums, this would be the one I'd take with me to a remote island. No fan should be without this album.”

“Simone is a musical anomaly, and her music can be very hard to categorize. She is a classically trained pianist. At times her complex piano parts call to mind Bach as in Bye Bye Blackbird. She is a folk singer; witness her biting version of The House Of The Rising Sun. She is a gospel singer, as heard in the roof-raising version of Children Go Where I Send You. She is a jazz singer, with a finger-poppin' and shuffling version of Just In Time. She's also a protest singer and a powerful actress capable of manipulating our fiercest emotions through song.”