Nina Simone - Little Girl Blue (1958) [2015 SACD]

Little Girl Blue was Nina Simone's debut release. Bethlehem founder Gus Wildi, taken with the uniquely beautiful quality of her voice, gave her complete control over song selection, backing musicians, arrangements and production of the recording. Nina and her rhythm section recorded the entire album plus three additional tracks in just one session. In her biography of Nina, Nadine Cohodas recounts engineer Irv Greeenbaum's recollection of that day: "Nothing like Nina's artistry had ever happened before ... Her voice and the keyboard playing were so rich and interesting that they could have stood alone."

Little Girl Blue documents Nina Simone's unparalleled and idiosyncratic musical persona at a particularly vibrant, formative stage, and helped launch her on a trajectory with more than its share of personal and professional trials and triumphs.


Tracks:

01. Mood Indigo 4:00
02. Don't Smoke In Bed 3:09
03. He Needs Me 2:26
04. Little Girl Blue 4:12
05. Love Me Or Leave Me 3:18
06. My Baby Just Cares For Me 3:33
07. Good Bait 5:25
08. Plain Gold Ring 3:50
09. You'll Never Walk Alone 3:58
10. Porgy 4:03
11. Central Park Blues 3:05

Personnel:

Nina Simone (piano and vocals)
Jimmy Bond (bass)
Albert “Tootie” Heath (drums)