Nina Simone is a tough singer to take on. Possessed of a mighty voice and virtuosic piano skills, her repertoire spans jazz standards to civil rights anthems, sweeping orchestrations and storytelling balladry. Yet, to do Simone justice, it isn’t simply a case of performing vocal acrobatics and keyboard technique. The task instead is to channel the raw vulnerability and emotional honesty that made her presence so captivating – to find the spirit that led Warren Ellis to keep a piece of her onstage chewing gum for 20 years following her final London performance in 1999.
Tonight’s celebration of Simone’s music takes place on the same stage as that show and features five vocalists. The repertoire is extensive, covering standards such as George Gershwin’s I Loves You, Porgy, featured on Simone’s 1959 debut, to the 1967 civil rights song I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free, the late ‘70s reggae of Baltimore and cinematic melodrama of I Put a Spell on You.
