Nina Simone has died
You kind of get immune to the TV news, but the archive clips of Nina Simone that resurfaced to accompany the announcements of her death, left me feeling very sad. I first saw that film of her show at Ronnie Scotts on TV late one night when I was still at school and it was something of a revelation. Most people of my age group were only aware of her hit 'My Baby Just Cares for Me' which ironically she never cared for, so the likes of 'Mississippi Goddamn' and 'Young Gifted and Black' were an unforgettable journey into perviously unchartered territory for me.
There are many lucid print and online tributes to Nina since she died so I'll just add a few words. I got interested in her work again a couple of years ago when Jacob Golden adopted a few of her songs into his solo residency at the 12 Bar in Covent Garden. 'The Other Woman' was another stunning song I had never heard until that night.
As Jacob said when I interviewed him a while back "I was really obsessed with Nina for a couple of years and I just spent a lot of time enjoying her records and exporing how she has such a beautiful way of just creating this space when she's singing. It's kind of perfect, she's just a master at what she does and I'm a massive fan of hers." (*)
I once remember her saying how she didn't listen to anyone nowadays other than Oscar Peterson because he was the only musician she considered as a 'master'. One listen her strongest material - for example, her version of Billie Holliday's 'Strange Fruit' - would make you praise her in those same terms.

(*) full interview coming soon