{"id":2213,"date":"2010-05-12T08:45:48","date_gmt":"2010-05-12T15:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/anthologysd.com\/blog\/?p=2213"},"modified":"2010-09-22T11:08:07","modified_gmt":"2010-09-22T18:08:07","slug":"sound-observations-from-simone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/2010\/05\/12\/sound-observations-from-simone\/","title":{"rendered":"Sound Observations From Simone"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThese are the songs I grew up with,\u201d says music veteran Simone about the set list at her May 13 show at Anthology. \u201cI bring myself to the stage, and do things to the songs \u2013 a riff here or there \u2013 and I can really feel the connection to my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what songs they are. Oh, and what a mother.<\/p>\n

Because Simone is the daughter of singing legend Nina Simone, the songs she\u2019s referring to include classics like “My Baby Just Cares for Me,\u201d “I Put a Spell on You,\u201d “Four Women,\u201d “I Loves You Porgy,\u201d “Feeling Good,\u201d “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,\u201d “Sinnerman,\u201d “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,\u201d “Mississippi Goddam,\u201d “Ain’t Got No, I Got Life” and “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl.”<\/p>\n

Simone, who was born Lisa Celeste Stroud, titles her show, \u201cSimone Sings Simone,\u201d and, fittingly, sings many of the songs that her mom made famous. However, many of the songs she sings are tunes that have been under-recognized.<\/p>\n

When Nina Simone died from breast cancer in 2003, Simone was the executor of the estate and while going through her mom\u2019s records, both financial and musical, she found many arrangements that her mom hadn\u2019t used.<\/p>\n

These make the bulk of her show, which features the backing of the Rob Stoneback Big Band.<\/p>\n

Not every song has her mom\u2019s stamp on it, but it does have her sprit. One tune, \u201cChild In Me,\u201d is an original tune written by Simone that is dedicated to her mom. Another is a rendition of \u201cAutumn Leaves,\u201d that is a tribute to another great singer, Eva Cassidy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought about singing \u2018Autumn Leaves\u2019 until I heard Eva\u2019s version,\u201d Simone said. \u201cShe turns it into a personal love story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simone grew up close to her mother, but her first musical \u201ca-ha!\u201d moment came while in church.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember going to church when I was very young \u2013 it was an integral part of life,\u201d Simone said. \u201cDuring one service, I was hearing the gospel singers and realized that if I were to accept God the way he needs to be, it would be through music.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s done pretty good with the music thing. Before she created her musical tribute, she had a successful career performing major roles in Broadway hit shows like \u201cRent,\u201d \u201cThe Lion King\u201d and \u201cAida.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe best compliment the producers gave me on those shows was they would give me the freedom to sing the song how I felt it,\u201d Simone said. \u201cIf there was a line that I felt could use a riff or a run, they would trust that it fit the story or the character.\u201d
\nBut for someone who has loved music all her life, and was familiar with the inner workings of the industry, Simone did not jump into showbiz right from the gitgo.<\/p>\n

Instead, she joined the Air Force and spent 11 years as a civil engineering assistant, eventually becoming a staff sergeant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt provided valuable lessons to becoming an adult,\u201d she said of the experience. \u201cAnd it is where I decided to become a singer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some celeb singers might try to talk their child out of pursuing music as a career, but Simone says her mom felt they both had a calling.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom felt she and I were both griots,\u201d Simone said. \u201cThat\u2019s the term for a storyteller in a tribe, the person who keeps the history of the tribe alive through storytelling,\u201d Simone said. \u201cWhen my mother included me as a griot that was one of the proudest days of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simone tries to honor that title with every show and considers it a good show when people feel comfortable enough to tell her their own personal experiences after the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will have people say, \u2018My husband enjoyed the music so much, he cried,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

By David Moye<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

WHAT: Simone<\/strong>
\nWHEN: Thursday, May 13th, 2010, 7:30pm<\/strong>
\nTICKETS: $10 – $27 BUY TICKETS<\/a><\/strong>
\nMORE INFO: Artist Profile<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThese are the songs I grew up with,\u201d says music veteran Simone about the set list at her May 13 show at Anthology. \u201cI bring myself to the stage, and do things to the songs \u2013 a riff here or there \u2013 and I can really feel the connection to my mother.\u201d And what songs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[893,17],"tags":[693,729,730,740,741,739],"class_list":["post-2213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-past-shows","tag-david-moye","tag-nina-simone","tag-simone","tag-simone-concert","tag-simone-live","tag-sound-observations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2213"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2832,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions\/2832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anthologysd.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}