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Links: www.simonesworld.com

Style: Jazz, Soul
Origin: USA
Touring party: 6
Territory: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, rest in coop Sound Surveyor
Availability: on request

Line Up:

Simone, vocals
Marty Mellinger, keys
Dave Garder, guitar
Bennie Sims, bass
Moon Henderson, drums

She is her own woman, a singer, songwriter and performer whose ability to transcend genres echoes the tradition of her mother, musical icon and pioneer Nina Simone. Blessed with a rich vocal range, an innate skill for lyrical interpretation and a soul-deep understanding of music as a means of healing, empowerment and celebration, Simone is very much her mother’s daughter, she is most assuredly a multi-talented artist in her own right.

A highly-praised live performer whose impressive resume includes starring roles on Broadway in such acclaimed musicals as Rent and Aida, Simone has developed an exciting and diverse repertoire of pop, soul, jazz, rock and funk, expressed in shows she’s done throughout the world. “Touring with Simone on Simone has been a dream come true as I’ve traveled around the world and graced stages that are legends unto themselves. Among my favorites have been the Sydney Opera House, the Montreaux Jazz Festival, New York’s Lincoln Center, Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, and the North Sea Jazz Festival.”

With the success of her 2008 release, Simone On Simone (a big band tribute to her mother produced by famed jazz musician and arranger Bob Belden), music lovers worldwide have discovered the vocal dynamism that live audiences have witnessed for over a decade. “This is my tribute to my mother, a chance for me to do the songs I love the most the way I hear them. It’s a glimpse of my life over four decades...”

Fortunate to have gotten over fi.y of her mother’s original arrangements, Simone began working with producer Bob Belden (whose credits include work with Herbie Hancock, Cassandra Wilson, Sting and Chick Corea) on the recording project, culling eleven songs from Nina Simone’s repertoire, including one live performance on which her mother accompanied her and featuring one poignant and highly personal song, “Child In Me” which Simone fondly refers to as “my love song to my mother.”

She succeeds admirably turning in tour-de-force performances on little-known gems from her mother’s recorded repertoire such as “Keeper Of The Flame,” “I Hold No Grudge” and “Don’t You Pay Them No Mind” (all from Nina Simone’s 1966 LP High Priestess Of Soul) as well as rewordings of such classics as “Feeling Good,” “Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair” (given a completely new and original twist), “Work Song,” the spirited “(You’ll) Go To Hell” and swinging versions of “Love Me Or Leave Me” and Duke Ellington’s “Gal From Joe’s.” Rounding out her first of many future albums: “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” (the Billy Taylor tune closely identified with her mother as one of the potent message songs which were so much a part of Nina Simone’s catalog of music with themes of freedom, self-empowerment and justice for all) and “How Long Must I Wander,” a plaintive song that speaks to Simone’s own formative years traveling across the globe with her mother. The album went on to be come #14 on the Billboard Jazz charts and was Top 5 at iTunes on their Jazz Vocalist chart.

Encouraged by the constant support of God, family, friends and fans, Simone says her commitment is to “keep singing, keep writing, keep performing, spreading the word, spreading the healing, spreading the message and spreading the love!” With a rich heritage to draw from, a wealth of accomplishments and accolades as a Broadway star and live performer and a finely-developed sense of her own unique artistry, Simone is ready to establish herself as a successful recording artist of the first order. She has had a wonderful run with Simone On Simone, an album that honors her mother’s musical contribution while beginning a new chapter in her own musical journey. Look for the new album to be released in Spring 2013.