Nina Simone For Lovers

The Newport Jazz Festival had always brought the best out in Nina Simone. When she took to that famous stage on July 2, 1966, the audience was treated to the full range of her artistry - from the opener, a breathtaking version of “You’ve Got To Learn” to an electrifying performance of her signature protest anthem “Mississippi Goddam”. Unwilling to let her leave the stage, and after sustained applause, her fans were rewarded with the show-stopping encore, “Music For Lovers”. This previously-unknown and unreleased recording showcasing Nina’s exceptional performance makes it clear why hearing Nina Simone in concert was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

After an uncharacteristic (for her) four-year hiatus from recording, Nina Simone returned to the fringes of the pop world with Baltimore, the only album she recorded for the CTI label. While it bears some of the musical stylings of the period – light reggae inflections that hint of Steely Dan's "Haitian Divorce" – the vocals are unmistakably Simone's. Like many of her albums, the content is wildly uneven; Simone simply covers too much ground and there's too little attention paid to how songs flow together. As a result, a robust torch piano ballad like "Music for Lovers" is followed immediately by one of Simone's more awkward moments, an attempt to keep up with a jaunty rhythm track on a cover of Hall & Oates' "Rich Girl."

Veteran jazz producer Creed Taylor decided to sign Nina Simone to his record label after seeing her perform live in 1977 at Drury Lane, and together they would record "Baltimore," Simone's first album since 1974's It Is Finished. Sessions for the album were very tense, with Simone disagreeing with Taylor's production choices—particularly his interest in a reggae sound, which first caused Simone to ask "What is this corny stuff?" Simone's difficult behavior delayed production, but she would eventually record her vocals for the album in a single hour-long sitting.

After an uncharacteristic (for her) four-year hiatus from recording, Nina Simone returned to the fringes of the pop world with Baltimore, the only album she recorded for the CTI label. While it bears some of the musical stylings of the period – light reggae inflections that hint of Steely Dan's "Haitian Divorce" – the vocals are unmistakably Simone's. Like many of her albums, the content is wildly uneven; Simone simply covers too much ground and there's too little attention paid to how songs flow together.