![]() ![]() The new movie is the latest work of Academy Award-nominated documentarian Liz Garbus ( The Farm: Angola, USA Bobby Fischer Against the World Love, Marilyn). Her career was derailed, however, due to a combination of commercial pressures, official hostility to her oppositional views, her own political disorientation and longstanding psychological problems that were later diagnosed as bipolar disorder. ![]() Nina Simone was an impassioned and unforgettable presence, one of the supreme musical talents of the mid-twentieth century. ![]() This documentary includes numerous examples of Simone’s compositions and renditions, including “Mississippi Goddam,” “Backlash Blues,” “Strange Fruit,” “I Loves You Porgy,” “ Ain’t Got No/I Got Life,” “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” and many others. This result is often difficult to classify, but as critic Stanley Crouch comments in the film, once you have heard Simone’s voice you will not forget it. Her work blends blues, jazz, gospel and folk with the training she received in classical piano. Simone did not so much move between different genres as combine them into her own unique and powerful style. Her repertoire included jazz, folk and American musical standards, as well as original compositions on racial and social injustice. She was also a songwriter and a classically trained pianist. What Happened, Miss Simone?, the documentary film on Nina Simone (1933-2003), directed by Liz Garbus and recently released on Netflix, is an informative and often fascinating examination of the life and times of the singer and civil rights activist.Īctually, to refer to Simone simply as a singer is inadequate. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |