Simone Diamantini

This compilation gathers 21 songs from a small period in the career of Nina Simone, the 1967-1968 era of the British hit "Ain't Got No (I Got Life)" and LPs like 1967's Silk & Soul. Those looking for a tight collection of Simone's crossover period will find much to love here, from "It Be's That Way Sometimes" and "The Backlash Blues" to covers of "I Shall Be Released," "Just Like a Woman," and "The Look of Love." The big caveat, however, is the presence of "Ain't Got No (I Got Life)" only in a live version, which makes this collection much more difficult to justify. It's worth picking up on a whim, but definitely not a careful search.

2007 has been a banner year for Goldbergs; no less than five recorded versions of the piece had appeared by the end of July, including a digitally reinterpreted incarnation of Glenn Gould's famous 1955 recording and Wilhelm Middelschulte's bizarre, psychedelic 1924 transcription of the work for organ. In the face of such circumstances, no one would blame music critics for throwing up their hands and saying something like "enough already!" Nevertheless, thankfully the Goldberg Variations is not that kind of a piece, its appeal is both immutable and universal. Ultimately it comes down to the personality of the keyboard player to make something out of the Goldberg Variations that stands apart from the pack, and young pianist Simone Dinnerstein has managed to do that with her glorious rendering of Bach's cycle for Telarc. Her rendering of the Aria is slower than the norm and her approach to tempo throughout is very elastic; there is nothing rigid about her interpretation of the work. Dinnerstein's reading involves a great deal of give and take, seeking to deepen the expressive potential of Bach's music without losing sight of its basic shape.

The only complete survey available of the keyboard music written by a forward-looking contemporary of Monteverdi.

Recorded in 1985 after a break from recording and time spent living in Barbados and Liberia, Nina’s Back features a rejuvenated Nina Simone reaching out to a wider musical audience. Featuring a number of memorable Simone compositions, the band includes horns and backup singers for a unique recording in Nina’s catalog.