Ledisi
Ledisi Sings Nina
BMG
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There is no shortage of those who have paid tribute to the legendary Nina Simone—her influence and genius is as deep as the Marianas trench in the Pacific Ocean. The last few years have brought more and more focus to the complex artist in the form of documentaries, books and tribute albums. Lauryn Hill did a sterling job with her interpretations of “Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair” and “Wild Is The Wind,” whilst Alice Smith brought her own inimitable style to “I Put A Spell On You” on 2015’s Nina Revisited.
The next to pay tribute is Ledisi, with a brief but beautiful set of seven songs in collaboration with the Metropole Orkest. In an interview with The New York Times, she described how hearing Simone brought her “back from despair” brought on by a divorce, financial difficulty and feeling like a stranger where she lived in 2003. The release of an album in tribute to her heroine has been a while coming given that she has been performing versions of the songs since 2017 in various cities and at jazz festivals, but it is entirely worth the wait.
The beauty of covering songs associated with Simone is that you get not just the chance to work with the magnificent songs she wrote, but also the amazing songs that Simone herself chose to cover—songs that soon became hers in all but name. And Simone picked (as you would expect) only the very best to cover herself; all of which means that the seven songs contained within Ledisi’s tribute are all stone-cold classics, although it does a seem odd that just one of the songs chosen is written by Simone (“Four Women”).
But all of these classic songs need a voice to match it and here, in Ledisi, they find just that. Her voice is never less than brilliant and often absolutely imperious—she is capable of wringing every ounce of emotion from these timeless tunes. She has the power of dynamite one second and the delicacy of fine bone china the next—she really is astonishing. The first 50 seconds of the oft-covered “Feeling Good” that open the album demonstrate the control she exhibits throughout—she quakes, slides skywards and cascades downwards with exquisite precision and the note she holds at its dazzling zenith is impeccable.
Ledisi injects the requisite lightness of touch to “My Baby Just Cares For Me” (along with more contemporary cultural references) before embarking on a staggering version of one of the greatest songs ever written. Jacques Brel’s masterpiece “Ne Me Quitte Pas” was a perfect fit for the quivering quality of Simone’s voice, but Ledisi treats every emotive turn in the lyrics as a challenge. As the verses plumb the depths of despair, she excels at expressing every twist of pain and nuance of forlorn hope in them. The result is five minutes of spine-tingling, heart breaking, shiver inducing magnificence.
On “Work Song” and “I’m Going Back Home” she sings with strength and muscularity, while offering the chance for the band to take center stage for a moment (particularly the jazzy, New Orleans infused latter). While these are iconic songs from Simone’s catalogue and Ledisi sings them impressively, they don’t offer as much scope for lyrical interpretation and the display of the full gamut of her skills.
This feeling is only heightened by the remaining two songs: “Wild Is The Wind” and Simone’s glorious “Four Women.” Both offer further proof of the outstanding vocal talent that Ledisi is blessed with. Beyond the technical abilities that allow her to stretch to the skies and sink to the earth’s core, lies a connection to the lyrics that penetrates to the listener’s core—she leaves nothing on the table, everything is forced out of her. That she can sing “Four Women” in four distinct and perfectly poised voices only goes to add proof to the notion that she is one of the greatest voices of her generation.
Recording an album of covers can often be a gamble for an established artist, but with a voice like Ledisi’s, this was the safest bet imaginable—she shimmers with iridescent vocal brilliance.
Notable Tracks: “Four Women” | “Ne Me Quitte Pas” | “Wild Is The Wind”
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