''The Amazing Nina Simone'' is the second studio album by

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

, released in July 1959. It was her second album, and her first recording for

Colpix Records Colpix Records was the first recording company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. Colpix got its name from combining Columbia (Col) and Pictures (Pix). CBS, which owned Columbia Records, then sued Columbia Pictures for trademark infringement ov ...

. The album contains a variety of material, including jazz, gospel, and folk songs. Compared to her

debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debu ...

, which showcased Simone's piano playing ability in addition to her singing, the piano was downplayed on ''Amazing'' in favor of string arrangements.

Overview

Recording

Simone's first album '' Little Girl Blue'' had been released by

Bethlehem Records Bethlehem Records was an American jazz independent record label, founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. History Bethlehem is remembered for its jazz releases from the 1950s. Producers included Creed Taylor and Teddy Charles. Bethlehem released the firs ...

in February 1959. However, the tracks for that album had been recorded way back in late 1957, and Simone was dissatisfied by the time it took for Bethlehem to release the album as well as the lack of effort the record company took in promoting her. Soon after ''Little Girl Blue'' was released she was talking to

about a new contract. As Nadine Cohodas puts it in ''Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone'' (2010): 'Unbeknownst to Nina, discussions about her career were going forward on two fronts'. On the one hand, at Bethlehem, Simone's contract was approaching its option. New owner

Syd Nathan Sydney Nathan (April 27, 1904 – March 5, 1968) was an American music business executive who founded King Records, a leading independent record label, in 1943. He contributed to the development of country & western music, rhythm and blues a ...

, who ran King Records and who had recently bailed out the ailing Bethlehem, did not want to renew. 'We don't need the broad' he told Gus Wildi, Bethlehem's founder. On the other hand,

Joyce Selznick Joyce Selznick (February 12, 1925 – September 17, 1981) was a talent agent, casting director, and screenwriter. She was the niece of film producer David O. Selznick (''Gone with the Wind'', 1939), providing her with early exposure to the industr ...

(niece of the producer David O. Selznick and East Coast talent scout for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

) wanted Simone at Colpix - Columbia's record division. Selznick arranged an audition, and Simone was signed immediately. The album was recorded in April 1959, and - according to Cohodas - 14 tracks were cut.

Release

The album was released in July 1959. In a review dated 25 July 1959 in ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'', the premier American

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

trade magazine A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for this ...

of the time, the reviewer wrote: 'Emerging as one of the bright new singing talents of the year, Nina Simone makes her Colpix LP debut ..Her deep-toned expressive voice and exquisite phrasing are a listening delight. Outstanding album.' The album featured 12 tracks.

''The Amazing Nina Simone'' Track list

Personnel

*Nina Simone –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Bob Mersey Robert David Mirsky (April 7, 1917 – December 14, 1994), known as Robert Mersey, was an American musician, arranger and record producer. Life and career In the 1950s, Mersey worked as an arranger with Leiber and Stoller. In 1959, he recorded " ...

–

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, conductor

Contemporary Singles from the album

This is a list of contemporary singles with tracks from ''The Amazing Nina Simone'' as an A Side. Between 1959 and 1963, Colpix issued 14 Nina Simone singles. The first two are listed above, with A Sides from ''The Amazing Nina Simone''. A number of subsequent singles which had A Sides taken from later albums or were non-album tracks would feature some cuts from ''The Amazing Nina Simone'' as B Sides. These are her third, fifth, eleventh, and twelfth Colpix singles.

Reissues

''The Amazing Nina Simone'' was reissued in 2005 with the same track listing but with four additional songs ('I Loves You Porgy', 'Falling In Love Again (I Can't Help It)', 'That's All', and 'The Man With A Horn'). All these songs were originally issued on ''

Nina Simone with Strings ''Nina Simone with Strings'' is an album by Nina Simone. The album was released after she had left Colpix Records. The tracks on the album were assembled by combining unreleased material with recordings of strings. In the UK, the album's version ...

'' (1966).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amazing Nina Simone, The 1959 albums Nina Simone albums Colpix Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Albums recorded in a home studio