On September 12th, 1959, the genre defying singer-pianist-songwriter Nina Simone performed at Town Hall, a legendary concert which yielded the classic At Town Hall album. On April 21th, 2006, history will repeat its' self on the same stage. Simone, daughter of Nina Simone, will be doing a tribute concert, singing the same songs heard in 1959, backed by some of the same musicians, but putting her own dynamic stamp on the music.
Nina Simone began her recording career with 1958s' Little Girl Blue. The landmark album took jazz songs (a term Nina herself detested; she referred to what she played as "black classical music") and imbued them with her own style. A classically trained pianist, she made thrillingly unexpected arrangements of songs like "Mood Indigo", and "Little Girl Blue", the latter famously interpolated with the carol "Good King Wenceslas. She eventually became as well-known for her civil rights activism and passionate personality as she was for her groundbreaking music. She wrote songs like "Young, Gifted, and Black" and "Mississippi Goddam" that expressed her feelings about the plight of African-Americans in society, while her versions of "I Put A Spell On You", "The House of The Rising Sun", and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" were artistic and commercial successes. She passed away on April 21st, 2003 at her home in France.
Lisa Celeste Stroud, Nina Simones' daughter, performs under the name Simone. Simone was an Engineering Assistant in the United States Air Force. Following her tenure in the service, she began singing backgrounds for various European artists. She eventually toured the world with Spanish artist Raphael. She would go on to a national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar before landing an understudy role in the original Broadway cast of Rent, and played Mimi in the first national tour. A new career path began when she joined the acid jazz band Liquid Soul, but she retuned to the Broadway stage in the title role of Disneys' Aida.
Simone was kind enough to answer a few questions via e-mail for BroadwayWorld.Com.
BWW: Many performers with famous parents are uncomfortable with their parents' legacies, but you have clearly embraced yours. Has this always
been this case, or was it a process? Were you reluctant to become a singer?
