Existing comment:
"Between the Keys"
Nina Simone (1933–2003) was a prodigiously talented, if complicated, singer, pianist, songwriter, and activist. Initially frustrated by lack of opportunities for African Americans in the world of classical music, she turned to jazz and assimilated repertoire from blues, folk, R&B, soul, and pop. Simone became one of the musical icons of the civil rights movement, documenting pride, identity, and racism with her songs "Mississippi Goddam," "Why (The King of Love is Dead)," "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," and Billy Taylor's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free." This quote from a draft of an unpublished autobiography, co-written with Mary Martin Niepold, expresses in terms simple and profound her thoughts on the art of jazz singing. |