Artist:     Nina Simone

Album:     Little Girl Blue

Label:     BMG

Release Date:     8.13.21

95

BUY DIGITAL

BUY PHYSICAL

Forced to grow up fast, maturing fully over a marathon 14-hour recording session one day in 1957 at Beltone Studios in midtown Manhattan, Little Girl Blue wasn’t looking for a pat on the head when it was released in 1959. A stunning revelation that fulfilled a one-off contract with respected New York City jazz label Bethlehem Records, Nina Simone’s remarkable debut still commands any room it occupies, walking in with a queen’s assured, confident air while sharing the sorrows of the downtrodden and broken hearted.

Not even 25 years old at the time, Simone displayed depth and richness as a singer, gracefully shaping and sculpting every word with her emotionally resonant contralto, while playing the piano with playful verve and a carefree spirit, soaring dynamics and a lived-in empathy for profound pain and suffering. And she took risks with her ingenious interpretations of favorites from iconic artists on Little Girl Blue, knowing instinctively her mastery of jazz and blues idioms, and her familiarity with the nuances of the American songbook and the cavernous soul of spirituals would carry the day.

Newly remastered and restored, BMG’s stereo reissue breathes new life into a revered classic, originally birthed just three years after Simone’s first professional gig at the Midtown Bar & Grille in Atlantic City, as bassist Jimmy Bond and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath walked with her arm-in-arm instrumentally during its making, the three grooving easily together. Somehow, Little Girl Blues now sounds fuller and richer, her reworkings of Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn’s “Love Me or Leave Me,” with its diverging paths of restlessly kinetic classical keys, and “My Baby Just Cares for Me” exuding even more charm, gently swinging with light buoyancy and a twinkle in Simone’s eye. Stepping lively, with Simone’s darting, tap-dancing piano, her sophisticated, quicksilver version of Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo” sounds positively cheery and upbeat, starkly contrasting the song’s inherent sadness. Simone sure liked to tinker.

Swimming in melancholy, her take on Count Basie’s “Good Bait,” with its soft pitter patter, changes its personality, while renderings of Willard Robison’s “Don’t Smoke in Bed” and George Stone’s “Plain Gold Ring” lick their wounds in beautiful agony. And Simone’s own “Central Park Blues” is serpentine and snaky, creeping along seductively, after her arresting remake of “I Loves You, Porgy” – a release that allowed Simone her only visit to the Billboard Top 20 – movingly begs to be rescued from toxic misogyny with irresistible, cringing drama.

Included here, the original liner notes contextualize the initial impact of Little Girl Blue, while Daphne A. Brooks, author of “Liner Notes for the Revolution,” writes eloquently of Simone’s ability and artistry. There was a plan in place for its reintroduction, with a digital release June 1, a Barnes & Nobles exclusive “clear blue” vinyl edition unveiled July 16, and the CD arriving Aug. 13. Grammy Award winners Michael Graves and Cheryl Pawelski handle the whole affair with tender loving care, like engineer Kevin Gray did in putting it to vinyl. The result is an elegantly understated, yet illuminating, package that celebrates the magnificence of Little Girl Blue in the best way possible.

—Peter Lindblad