Search - Nina Simone & Her Trio :: My Baby Just Cares for Me

The birth of a legend. Amazing,haunting,absolutely essential

JEAN-MARIE JUIF | BESANCON France | 04/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the birth of miss Nina Simone.Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Troy,North Carolina,one of these awful southern states,February 21,1933, the young girl started playing piano at four,and later hoped to become a classical music musician. But,of course,way back in the late fourties, a young black lady wasn't supposed to be playing what they called "serious" music;even Art Tatum (1910-1956),the greatest piano player of all times,as revered by his jazz confreres than by the most important classical musicians like Arturo Toscanini,Arthur Rubinstein,Wladimir Horowitz or even Sergei Rachmaninoff,couldn't make a classical musician's career because he was black.And blind.Yes, the greatest piano player was blind.All he could do was recording short versions of Anton Dvorak's "Goin' home" or Massenet's "Elegie";but we'll never listen to him playing Bach.Maybe Glenn Gould would never have recorded Bach's tunes if Tatum had played them before! But let's go back to the young Eunice Waymon,24 years old and the head full of broken dreams.She choose "Nina Simone" as her musician's name; "Simone" was for Simone Signoret,the very great french actress,who was Yves Montand's wife.

This recording session happened in New York City,1957;Nina was 24 at this time;her trio is made of herself,singing and playing great piano,Jimmy Bond on bass and Albert "Tootie" Heath, brother of Percy and Jimmy Heath, on drums.This first record by a new talent is amazing: even Billie Holiday's first waxed songs weren't as perfect.Of course,Nina's voice is haunting,surely one of the four greatest female voices in the history of jazz,with Billie Holiday,Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington.But Nina's piano playing is one of the most original ones. Just listen to "Central Park blues",or to this incredible version of Tadd Dameron's "Good bait".These are some of the most inventious and adventurous piano playing you'll hear,and it reminds me of some Mary Lou Williams tunes.By the way,do you know who Mary Lou Williams was? Shorty Baker's wife,yes,but mostly Bud Powell's and Thelonious Monk's piano teacher!!!During the fourties,she used to miss gigs to be replaced by the young Bud and Thelonious and let the guys learn their new musician's life.

MaryLou,Bessie,Billie,Lil Green too,Sarah Vaughan,Ella Fitzgerald,Maxine Sullivan,Alberta Hunter,Chippie Hill,Trixie Smith,Clara Smith,Ma Rainey,Melba Liston,Jessica Williams,Geri Allen,Amina Claudine Myers,Victoria Sp?vey,Eva Taylor,Carmen McRae,Toshiko Akiyoski,Junko Onishi,Rosemary Clooney,Ivie Anderson,Blanche Calloway,Mildred Bailey,Pearl Bailey,Abbey Lincoln,Della Griffin,Etta Jones,Jeanne Lee,Lorraine Geller,Diane Reeves,Nneena Freelon,Cassandra Wilson,Betty Carter,etc,etc.Jazz was not only made by men,jazz isn't only a men's art.

"African mailman".Recorded 1957.Two years after Charlie Parker's death.Two years before Sidney Bechet,Lester Young and Billie Holiday died.49 years ago.When Sonny Rollins,Thelonious Monk or Herbie Nichols started to be know as "jazz stars",and they were for years.This young lady plays the most outstanding version of the old Duke Ellington's "mood indigo"(one of the greatest tunes ever written with "Creole love call",also by Duke,and James P.Johnson's "if I could be with you one hour tonight",and Eubie Blake's "memories of you").This young lady,with many desillusions in her brain,swings on "love me or leave me" like nobody but Billie ever did;this young lady plays "good bait" in a minor way,for the first time;this young lady gives a terrific version of "don't smoke in bed" and "for all we know";this young lady has fun on "my baby just cares for me",which will become a hit in each and every country.

Eunice "Nina" Waymon became severely engaged in the civil rights movement during the sixties; songs like "Mississippi goddam" or the very great "backlash blues",which includes some of the greatest lyrics ever written since "St James Infirmary" or "Strange fruit",made her worldwide famous but she had to leave the States to be a little more peaceful.After 70,it's only pain and sorrow,she once said; she died two month after her 70 birthday,in Carry-le-Rouet,near Marseille,France,were she's been living for years.Funny,MaryLou Williams also died 70,in 1981.Rest in peace,little girl blue."