Welcome to Afterglow, I’m your host, Mark Chilla.

Nina Simone. The High Priestess of Soul, was an enigmatic and eccentric figure in the world of jazz. With a piano style steeped in classical training, she reluctantly became the toast of the jazz world in 1960, later crusading for political change, before retreating from the spotlight. On this episode, we’ll feature Simone in her most natural element: live on stage. We’ll hear some of her iconic performances at Carnegie Hall, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Village Gate.

It’s Live Nina, coming up on Afterglow

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “TURN, TURN, TURN”

Nina Simone with one of her many covers of contemporary pop and folk tunes. That was “Turn! Turn! Turn! To Everything A Season” a folk tune that Pete Seeger adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes in 1959, and later popularized by the folk rock group The Byrds in 1965. That performance was recorded live in Europe in 1969.

MUSIC CLIP - NINA SIMONE, “YOU’D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO”

Mark Chilla here with you on Afterglow. On this show, our focus is on the great Nina Simone, one of the most enigmatic figures in jazz. When she first broke onto the scene in the late 1950s, many had trouble reconciling her place in the jazz world: most notably, Simone herself. Born Eunice Waymon in North Carolina, she dreamed of being a classical pianist—a dream that stayed with her, even as she began to find success as a jazz and pop singer. 

After failing an audition to study at the famed Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, she began to moonlight as a singer and pianist at the Midtown Bar in Atlantic City in 1954, mostly out of necessity. It was there that she adopted the stage name “Nina Simone,” to help protect her from the scorn of her family and teachers. On stage, she wove her relatively limited knowledge of blues, gospel, and standards with her classical piano training: improvising extended Bach-like fugue passages, like the one you’re hearing now. Very soon, mostly through word-of-mouth, her compelling live shows gained a reputation, eventually earning her a recording contract, and invitations to perform at bigger and more prestigious venues. Nina Simone’s talent had eclipsed Eunice Waymon’s dreams.

In 1960, her performance at the Newport Jazz Festival thrust her into the national spotlight—earning her first top 40 album the next year. The set was hypnotic and eclectic: gospel, folk, and blues, mixed with pop and jazz standards. We’ll feature now several songs from this legendary performance. 

First up, this is Nina Simone with a hauntingly beautiful performance of Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “YOU’D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO”

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “TROUBLE IN MIND”

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “LITTLE LIZA JANE”

From her 1960 performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, the electrifying Nina Simone featuring Al Schackman on guitar, Chris White on bass, and Bobby Hamilton on drums. That was her own arrangement of the traditional folk tune “Little Liza Jane.” Before that, we heard the 1920s blues number “Trouble in Mind” and Cole Porter’s spellbinding “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To.”

After finding success performing live in Atlantic City, Nina Simone was soon performing in many of the prestigious venues around the country. By the mid 1960s, she had already performed live and recorded albums in two of New York City’s most respected institutions: Town Hall and Carnegie Hall.

I want to play a song from each of these venues now. This first one comes from Simone’s 1959 performance in Town Hall. It was her debut in the large concert hall, and her first time performing in a venue larger than a nightclub. However, it proved to be the perfect sophisticated venue for this reluctant jazz artist and aspiring classical pianist. Her performance, as expected, was captivating, and luckily preserved on tape—becoming her first live album.

This is Nina Simone live in New York’s Town Hall in 1959 performing the Billie Holiday song “Fine and Mellow,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “FINE AND MELLOW”

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “THE TWELFTH OF NEVER”

Nina Simone live at Carnegie Hall in 1963 with “The Twelfth of Never,” written by Jerry Livingston and Paul Francis Webster. Before that, we heard her live at Town Hall in 1959 with “Fine And Mellow.” Both of those live LPs were released on the Colpix label.

In Nina Simone’s early days performing in Atlantic City, her signature tune quickly became Gershwin’s “I Loves You, Porgy,” from Porgy and Bess, inspired by Billie Holiday’s version of the song. In Simone’s capable hands, “I Loves You, Porgy” was dark and brooding, yet captivating and remarkably expressive. She performed the song every night, and it remained in her repertoire for many years. 

Let’s hear a version now, also recorded live at Carnegie Hall the following year in 1964. This is Nina Simone with “I Loves You, Porgy,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “I LOVES YOU, PORGY”

Nina Simone live at Carnegie Hall in 1964, from her LP Nina Simone in Concert. That was Gershwin’s “I Loves You, Porgy.”. We’ll have more Live Nina after a short break, stay with us. 

MUSIC CLIP - NINA SIMONE, “BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVE'S HAIR”

I’m Mark Chilla, and you’re listening to Afterglow

MUSIC CLIP - NINA SIMONE, “FODDER ON MY WINGS”

Welcome back to Afterglow, I’m Mark Chilla. We’ve been highlighting the thrilling Nina Simone live in concert this hour. In the mid 1960s, Simone took up the mantle of a civil rights advocate, reflected both in her life and in her music. But the seeds of civil rights advocacy were sown early on in her music. She would often turn to the works of Oscar Brown, a key civil rights figure, like in this next song. From a 1961 live performance at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village, this is Nina Simone with Oscar Brown’s “Brown Baby” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “BROWN BABY”

Nina Simone with the Oscar Brown’s song “Brown Baby.” That performance comes from a live set she recorded at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village in 1961.

As the decade wore on, Nina Simone became increasingly tied to the growing civil rights movement. Her own songs like “Four Women” “Mississippi Goddamn,” and “To Be Young Gifted And Black” preached awareness and activism for black America. Even in her diverse choice of covers, Simone’s music was politically-charged, songs like Billy Taylor’s “I Wish I Knew How IT Would Feel to Be Free.” 

Let’s hear that song now. This performance comes from one of her most bizarre, yet stirring performances, recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1976. 

This is Nina Simone live with “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “I WISH I KNEW HOW IT WOULD FEEL TO BE FREE”

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “AIN’T GOT NO/I GOT LIFE”

Nina Simone live at the Philharmonic Hall in 1969 with “Ain’t Got No/I Got Life,” a medley of two songs from the musical Hair, by Galt MacDermot. That comes from her 1970 Grammy-nominated album Black Gold. Before that, we heard one of her legendary performances from the 1976 Montreux Jazz Fest. That was “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free.” That comes from the 2021 album Nina Simone: The Montreux Years.

Not long after this infamous live performance at Montreux, Nina Simone began to retreat from the public eye. Plagued by mental health issues and tax problems, she fled the country, recording and performing infrequently.

She had a mini-Renaissance in the late 1980s, with several live albums, including one at Ronnie Scott’s Club in London and at Vine Street in Hollywood. She adopted as part of her repertoire the 1974 Janis Ian song, “Stars,” about the pressures and troubles of fame. Simone so effectively transformed the song into her own, that you could almost think it was written about her life.

Let’s hear it now. This is Nina Simone live in 1987 with the song “Stars,” on Afterglow.

MUSIC - NINA SIMONE, “STARS”

Nina Simone with the Janis Ian song “Stars,” performed live at the Vine Street Bar in Hollywood in 1987, from the album Let it Be Me.

Thanks for tuning in to this Live Nina edition of Afterglow.

MUSIC CLIP - NINA SIMONE, “TAKE MY HAND, PRECIOUS LORD”

Afterglow is part of the educational mission of Indiana University and produced by WFIU Public Radio in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana. The executive producer is John Bailey.

Playlists for this and other Afterglow programs are available on our website. That’s at indianapublicmedia.org/afterglow.

I’m Mark Chilla, and join me next week for our mix of Vocal Jazz and popular song from the Great American Songbook, here on Afterglow.