Jazz | Fusion Vinyl 282 Items

A multi-instrumentalist who reconfigured jazz many times during his long career, Yusef Lateef came to prominence in the late 1950s, after having toured with Dizzy Gillespie. Jazz Mood dates from 1957, when his Quintet had some of Detroit's finest, including Alice Coltrane's brother Ernest Farrow on bass and future Jazz Messenger Curtis Fuller on trombone. The use of an argol on 'Metaphor' and a rabat and finger cymbals on 'Morning' point to Lateef's Islamic grounding and his belief that music serves a higher purpose; this edition has bonus track 'Passion,' from the equally excellent Before Dawn. Rich, deep, and varied, this is required listening for all serious jazz heads.

Another legendary Lateef session cut in 1960 for the New Jazz imprint. The co-leader - bassist Doug Watkins - died tragically in a car accident in 1962 at the age of 27. However, prior to his early demise, he recorded dozens of wonderful sessions with some of the greatest jazzmen of his time, among them Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the Horace Silver Quintet. Imagination ! marked his second and final album as a leader, and features Watkins on cello instead of bass. The use of cello - and oboe on some numbers - makes the date stand out a bit from the usual hard bop sessions of the period and straight-ahead jazz fans will want to get this.

Limited Clear Vinyl edition, 300 copies! In 1959, at the time of this recording session, Yusef Lateef was already approaching a new and more open form of Jazz. A sophisticated, spiritual yet urban music form informed by non western languages and cultures. Cry Tender! is a deeply inventive, mostly contemplative album inspired by an original cosmopolitan vision of Jazz and based on masterful playing from a bunch of solid Jazz musicians including among others: Wilbur Harden – flugelhorn, Hugh Lawson – piano, Herman Wright – bass and Oliver Jackson – drums, percussion, all under the direction of master of ceremonies Yusef Lateef on tenor sax, flute and oboe.

Released in 1967, California Dreaming was Wes Montgomery's last album for Verve (other than an exciting collaboration with Jimmy Smith). It’s an extraordinary orchestral date featuring arrangements by Don Sebesky that showcases soloists such as pianist Herbie Hancock and percussionist Ray Barretto. The songs (which include "Sunny" and the title tune "California Dreaming") are in this case mostly pop material of the era, from which the great performer extracts magic sounds. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard jazz album chart and No. 4 on the R&B chart, and was one of the last great works by Montgomery, whose later guitar style influenced jazz fusion and smooth jazz. At the peak of his popularity, the guitarist unexpectedly died of a heart attack on June 15, 1968, at the age of 45.

1964 was one of the most momentous years in the musical life of Wayne Shorter. Early in the year the saxophonist was still a member of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, appearing on classic Blue Note albums like Free for All and Indestructible. Shorter made his own auspicious label debut that spring with Night Dreamer and quickly recorded the impressive follow-up JuJu. That summer he joined the Miles Davis Quintet, cementing a line-up that would become one of the seminal bands in jazz history. And when Shorter entered Van Gelder Studio with Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Elvin Jones on Christmas Eve 1964 they created a masterpiece with Speak No Evil, a transcendent set of six Shorter originals including the swinging title track, “Witch Hunt,” and sublime ballad “Infant Eyes.”

Wayne Shorter stepped out as a Blue Note artist on his masterful 1964 label debut Night Dreamer, a sublime set that signalled the arrival of one of the most important saxophonists and composers in jazz history. Timeless Shorter compositions are given transcendent performances by a quintet with Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, and Elvin Jones.



Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition: Stereo, mastered from a digital source by Kevin Gray, manufactured at Optimal (180 g), padded inner sleeves.

Toshiko Mariano Quartet is the 1961 album from fourteen time Grammy Nominated pianist and composer Toshiko Akiyoshi - then known as Toshiko Mariano. Women have long been denied the credit they deserve in jazz. It must be noted that as a Japanese women in jazz, Akiyoshi had to battle for acceptance on many fronts. Jazz has been a patriarchy community from the beginning, and even critical praise of her playing could not help but take note of her gender. Leonard Feather, for example, writing at the time in the Encyclopedia of Jazz called out Akiyoshi’s playing as “fiery, powerfully articulated and exceptionally fluent,” but added that there was “nothing delicately feminine.” Even today it is still hard for people to see Jazz in any other way. We are pleased to be a part of shifting the narrative and shine a spotlight on this talented artist and this wonderful album. While she was later to compose using themes, harmonies, and instruments connected to her Japanese heritage, this album captures the pianist early in her career playing a straight ahead, harp bop style. This was already her 7th album as a band leader, and it is a shining example of her confidence and mastery of her instrument and as a band leader. Recorded at the Nola Penthouse Studios in New Your City in December of 1960, the LP includes extraordinary liner notes by Candid A&R man and producer Nat Hentoff giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these extraordinary performances.

Mostly improvised by clarinettist Scott, backed by Hozan Yamamoto and Shinichi Yuize — on the Japanese instruments shakuhachi and koto — this 1964 album is a precursor to later movements in ambient and new age music, from in and out of the jazz world.



VERVE BY REQUEST SERIES: remastered, audiophile-quality 180-gram vinyl from Third Man Pressing/Detroit, Single Sleeve.

The only one of tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks’ albums as a leader to be released during his too-brief lifetime, 1960’s True Blue is a hard bop masterpiece featuring Brooks’ distinctive compositions performed by an exceptional quintet with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Duke Jordan on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Taylor on drums.



Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition: Stereo, mastered from a digital source by Kevin Gray, manufactured at Optimal (180 g), padded inner sleeves.

180 Gram Vinyl

Pressed at Pallas in Germany

Originally issued in Stereo on Prestige LP (PR 7190) Subsequently reissued in the Prestige/New Jazz budget subsidiary label Status (ST 7190) The John Wright Trio John Wright (piano), Wendell Roberts (bass), Walter McCants (drums). Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliff, New Jersey, August 30, 1960 Engineered & mastered by Rudy Van Gelder Cover photo & design: Esmond Edwards Back-liner notes: LeRoi Jones Recording supervised by Esmond Edwards

Four-and-a-half decades after the event, saxophonist Charles Lloyd's "Love-In", recorded live at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium in 1967, the counterculture's West Coast music hub, endures as much as an archaeological artifact as a musical document. From sleeve designer Stanislaw Zagorski's treatment of Rolling Stone photographer Jim Marshall's cover shot, through the album title and some of the track titles ("Tribal Dance", "Temple Bells"), and the inclusion of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "Here There And Everywhere", "Love-In's" semiology reeks of the acid-drenched zeitgeist of the mid 1960s, a time when creative music flourished, and rock fans were prepared to embrace jazz, provided the musicians did not come on like their parents: juicers dressed in sharp suits exuding cynicism.
It is likely that more joints were rolled on "Love-In's" cover than that of any other jazz LP of the era, with the possible exception of saxophonists John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" (Impulse!, 1965) and Pharoah Sanders's "Tauhid" (Impulse!, 1967). Chet Helms, a key mover and shaker in the West Coast counterculture, spoke for many when he hailed the Lloyd quartet as »the first psychedelic jazz group«.
It is to Lloyd's credit that, at least in the early stages of his adoption by the counterculture, he resisted dumbing down his music. The adoption stemmed from Lloyd's espoused attitude to society, his media savvy, his sartorial style and his sheer nerve in playing jazz in the temples of rock culture. He took the quartet into the Fillmore West three years before trumpeter Miles Davis took his into the Fillmore East.
So "Love-In" comes with a load of baggage, some of it less than fragrant. But as 45 minutes of music, it still has legs. Lloyd's vocalized tenor (and flute on two tracks) has Coltrane-derived muscle; the young Jarrett's lyrical and funky solos, particularly on his 07:55 showcase, the gospel-ish "Sunday Morning", his two featured originals ("Sunday Morning" and the soul jazz-ish "Is It Really the Same?"), and his playing the strings of the piano directly with his hands, all remain compelling; McClure and DeJohnette are solid and inventive.

Master jazz pianist Tenorio Jr aka Francisco Tenório Júnior only recorded this one album, 'Embalo', originally released on RGE in 1964. Rumour has it that he was arrested and thrown in jail (and possibly even murdered) while on tour with Toquinho and Vinicius de Moraes in Argentina in 1976. He has not been seen since...
Soon after the disappearance of Tenorio Jr. filmmaker Rogerio Lima produced a short film entitled "Balada para Tenorio," which chronicles the disappearance with interviews with family and friends.
Júnior played on Gal Costa’s classic song ’Pontos De Luz’, as sampled by Kaytranada on Lite Spots.
This classic album has long been on our list to reissue and we are delighted to be able to present it at last with replica original artwork. As regularly played by the likes of Gilles Peterson, Floating Points and co.

1step Process 180g 45rpm Double LP Pressed on VR900-Supreme Vinyl! Mastered From The Original Analogue Master Tapes by Bernie Grundman! Super-Luxe "Monster Pak" Jacket with a Rich 36-Page Booklet & Striking Outer Slipcase!

New lacquers cut for every 500 pressings!

Strictly Limited To 7,500 Numbered Pressings!

There have been more than 40 U.S. releases (and hundreds more worldwide) of Stan Getz's cultural touchstone album and for good reason: few recordings better capture the breezy warmth and easy-going sophistication of Brazilian bossa nova for an American jazz audience. Fewer recordings can replicate the you-are-there presence and flawlessly tight studio acoustics. Only Getz/Gilberto has Billboard Top-10-charting singles like "The Girl from Ipanema." When Impex Records jumps into this densely-populated fray with our own production, we need to bring maximum value and prestige to it. Challenge accepted. We worked directly with Stan's wife Monica Getz and their son Nicolaus to create the most authentic, best-presented Getz/Gilberto ever.

Exclusive to Impex's 1step Getz/Gilberto includes an insightful new interview/essay by Charles Granata featuring Monica reminiscences of the making of this record, the subsequent cultural phenomenon, and Stan's battles with some pretty heavy demons. Also unique to this release are two bonus tracks: an alternate mono 7" mix of "The Girl from Ipanema" (without the added echo, thank you very much) and a live recording of "Corcovado" from Carnegie Hall. Finally, the large-format, 36-page booklet features dozens of rare photos, the original album notes, and a fascinating personal remembrance from Monica Getz herself, celebrating her late husband's work and an inside look at Stan's family life while making the record!

Using the original analog master tapes and no computers at all, Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering sought to keep the sense of space and tone on the master tape intact without unnecessary embellishment. Impex 1steps get you closer to the source, not the ideal.

We know you have many choices when it comes to enjoying this singular album. The Impex 1step of Getz/Gilberto cuts above all other releases with added-value content that takes you deeper into Stan Getz's life and process in a way never previously possible.

The 1step Process:



The Impex 1step process relies on short, tightly-controlled runs that require a new lacquer after each 500 pressings. This unforgiving format has the lacquer skipping the regular father-mother process, going right to a single convert and then pressing. Though this dramatically increases mastering and production costs, it also assures each run is more consistent from disc to disc, with less noise, clearer details and deeper bass.

Reducing production complexity to just a single "convert" disc between the lacquer and the press greatly improves groove integrity, diminishes non-fill anomalies and increases signal integrity from the master tape to your system.

Features:



The only release of this fundamental jazz classic crafted with the full participation of the Getz family, including never-before-seen photos and notes from Monica and Nick Getz Exclusive new interview essay about Getz's life and the recording of the album by noted producer and historian Charles L. Granata Exclusive ultra-luxe Impex 1step packaging featuring a deluxe 36-page booklet within a heavy-stock two-sleeve Monster Pack jacket and striking colour-matched slip case Two all-analogue bonus tracks: an alternate mono 7" mix of "The Girl from Ipanema" and a live recording of "Corcovado" from Carnegie Hall Limited to 7,500 copies



Musicians:



Stan Getz- tenor saxophone Joao Gilberto - guitar, vocals Antonio Carlos - Jobim piano Tommy William - bass Milton Banana - drums Astrud Gilberto - vocals

The Latin Jazz classic that started it all! Mandatory!

The album Rock 'n Soul was originally released in 1964 by Grammy Award winning Solomon Burke (†2010). 7 tracks ended up in Top 100 Billboard Hits at the time. "If You Need Me" went as high as #2 in the Black Singles Chart. This extraordinary album is not only soulful but a confirmation that Burke is a genius when it comes to writing music and making it happen in a studio!

Originally issued as Stere-O-Craft #16
Subsequently reissued by Hi-Life Records as HLS 55

The Shirley Horn Trio
Shirley Horn (piano & vocals), Joe Benjamin (bass), Herb Lovelle (drums).
Lewis Packer, bass, and Harry Saunders, drums, replace Benjamin and Lovelle on "Day by Day"
Recorded in New York City, 1960

Back-liner notes written by Mort Fega
Jazz Unlimited, WEVD, New York City
Recording produced by Buddy Smith

180 Gram Newly Remastered Vinyl Reissue of the original Stere-O-Craft #16 Limited edition in Solid carton sleeve

Der Saxophonist Sam Rivers hatte sich schon sehr früh in seiner Karriere durch bemerkenswerte Originalität ausgezeichnet. Nach einem kurzen Intermezzo im zweiten großen Quintett von Miles Davis, spielte Rivers im Dezember 1964 für Blue Note sein Debütalbum “Fuchsia Swing Song” ein. Das Repertoire bestand aus sechs Kompositionen von Rivers, die zwar fest im Post-Bop und Blues wurzelten, aber die avantgardistischen Tendenzen des Saxophonisten auch nicht leugnen konnten. Das Highlight des Albums ist die atemberaubende Ballade “Beatrice”, die später sogar von den Tenor-Giganten Joe Henderson und Stan Getz aufgegriffen und interpretiert wurde.

BLUE NOTE CLASSIC VINYL EDITION: Stereo, komplett analog von Kevin Gray von den Originalbändern gemastert, Optimal-Pressung (180 g), wattierte Innenhülle.

"Space Flight" was the debut recording by the mysterious organist Sam Lazar, who disappeared from the music scene after just a few recordings in the 1960s. Issued on Argo in 1960, it features guitar wizard Grant Green—on only his second recording—as well as Chicago blues legend Willie Dixon on bass.



Verve BY Request Series: remastered, audiophile-quality 180-gram vinyl from Third Man Pressing/Detroit, Single Sleeve

Tracklisting: Space Flight (1960)

A few copies arrived with a seamsplit Cover. We're therefore selling it on a reduced price.

Sahib, besides being an undisputed leader and releasing records for prestigious European and American labels, was one of the key members of the prestigious Kenny Clarke Francy Boland Big Band.

Sahib, besides being an undisputed leader and releasing records for prestigious European and American labels, was one of the key members of the prestigious Kenny Clarke Francy Boland Big Band.

Long before becoming an icon of funk, acid jazz, and R&B, Roy Ayers was a promising young jazz vibraphonist. Originally released in 1967, Virgo Vibes was Ayers' second album, and his debut for Atlantic. With five cool, funky jazz tracks, the LP features talented musicians like Joe Henderson, Charles Tolliver, Bruno Carr, Jack Wilson and the mysterious pianist Ronnie Clark (Herbie Hancock playing under a pseudonym). A rare treasure infused with the relaxed, sunny vibe that defined Ayers’ stellar career, Virgo Vibes is now available again on vinyl.

In the late 1960s, vibraphonist Roy Ayers was among the top young talents in jazz, thriving during a remarkable era for the genre. While Ayers would later become a jazz-funk pioneer and delve heavily into R&B fusions, his third album Stoned Soul Picnic is a masterful showcase of soul-jazz grooves. Produced by Herbie Mann, Stoned Soul Picnic features a memorable Laura Nyro-penned title track, along with an exceptional lineup of musicians, including Gary Bartz, Hubert Laws, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, and Grady Tate. Originally released in 1968, this early Roy Ayers classic is now receiving an official reissue via Nature Sounds.

Limited Clear Vinyl edition, 300 copies! Roland Kirk was one of the most creative, extravagant figures in jazz history. A master multi instrumentalist with no boundaries in terms of language, style and technique. Here we find him co-leading a strong studio session with organ specialist Brother Jack Mcduff. Backed up by Joe Benjamin on bass and Art Taylor on drums, Kirk and McDuff give voice to a soulful post-bop set full of groovy riffs and highly inventive instrumental ping pong. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and released in 1961 by Prestige Records, this is a fine early step in Kirk's varied and intense career.

Deliberately presented as a dance music release, this brilliant Quincy Jones album - first released on Mercury label in 1961 - comprises material from two marvelous big band performances recorded the year before in Paris and New York. Here the great composer and arranger leads a first class "dance organization", a top-flight big band featuring the cream of NY Jazz musicians, among them: Clark Terry and Freddie Hubbard - trumpets, Curtis Fuller and Melba Liston - trombones, Phil Woods, Oliver Nelson and Sahib Shihab - saxes, Stu Martin - drums. An exquisite platter of highly swinging and danceable grooves signed by the genius of Quincy Jones

When he first came on the scene, Phil Woods was often referred to as “The New Bird,” in a nod to the legendary Charlie Parker. A testament to his genius on the saxophone to be sure. But while obviously indebted to Parker - as all modern jazz saxophonists of a certain era were - there is no question that Phil Woods was an original. After earning a degree in music from Juilliard in the early 1950’s, Woods found himself in the orbit of the great Quincy Jones. At Jones’ invitation Woods joined Dizzy Gillespie’s infamous Jazz Ambassadors - a tour sponsored by the US State Department as part of a global cultural diplomacy initiative - and subsequently became a member of Jones’ own touring band. This recording, his 9th album as a band leader, consists entirely of Woods’ five-part Rights of Swing Suite. An ambitious large-scale composition based solidly on jazz traditions. A culmination of the influences the then 30 year artist had absorbed. Arguably considered one of Woods finest recordings, the record features a stellar section made up of Wood’s fellow Quincy Jones band members. (It should be noted that these same musicians, for the most part, are also the section on Benny Bailey’s Candid Records recording, Big Brass, recorded a a few months prior in November of 1960). Recorded at the Nola Penthouse Studios in New Your City on two dates in January and February of 1961, and conducted by Quincy Jones. The LP includes extraordinary liner notes by Candid A&R man and producer Nat Hentoff, and in-depth commentary from Woods himself, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these extraordinary performances.

Why should you buy this LP? 1. Because of its super sound? Of course! 2. Because Paul Desmond and Jim Hall are playing? Naturally! 3. For "Easy Living"? Surely one of the best numbers in one of the most multifaceted versions! 4. Because you missed out on the first release in 1966? Well, don’t make the same mistake in 2018!
Not everyone wants to purchase all Victor recordings by Paul Desmond and Jim Hall with umpteen alternate takes in a voluminous CD Box, to listen to it all, and to find it just wonderful to show off on the record shelf. The eight numbers on "Easy Living" constitute the height of Desmond’s career anyway after he had at last managed to take his leave from Dave Brubeck’s group. And the change from purely chordal playing and single notes from Jim Hall is more airy and more inspiring than the meaty piano clusters of his former boss. And don’t forget either that half of the Modern Jazz Quartet, namely the bassist Percy Heath and the drummer Connie Kay, deliver an exquisite skeletal structure over which the musicians can improvise brilliantly.
LPs are, and remain, unbeatable, both as regards sound and feel. And happily they are also a safe investment – maybe not all, but "Easy Living" with Paul Desmond and Jim Hall most definitely!

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under www.pure-analogue.com.
All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: June 1963, July and September 1964, June 1965 at RCA Studio, New York City
Production: George Avakian

First time release on vinyl of the breathtaking songs Patty Waters recorded with engineer Steve Atkins in 1970 at the Coast Recordings studio, together with the unreleased single 'My One And Only Love' and a recorded live session at Lone Mountain College in 1974.

The album 'You Loved Me' is the missing link between her two groundbreaking pioneering and highly acclaimed ESP-Disk records from the end of the 60's and her post 90's releases. The missing link between the radical ingenue of the 1960s and her late 90's songs wherein she expressed the resolution of all of her life's moments through mature readings of traditional songs and jazz standards. This collection aims to provide that missing link and to finally complete the picture of her storied recording career.

In what would have been her third LP, the 'You Loved Me' album serves as the inverse of Patty's debut. While her debut "Sings" concerned itself with themes of heartbreak, loneliness and yearning, there's an abundance of love, joy and togetherness on "You Loved Me".

Or in Patty's own words:

"I was a young girl alone at age 19, I was longing for love and dreaming of how wonderful love could be"

On 'You Loved Me' Patty Waters velvet voice captures this longing for love, straight from her soul to your heart. Crossing the border of the avant garde jazz entering a strange zone, somewhere between spiritual jazz, early folk vibes on the songs on the A-sides while the 14 minute composition 'Touched By Rodin In A Paris Museum' on the B-side is (dixit David Stubbs for Uncut in 2004) a brilliant extended showcase for the uneasy Cageian minimalism of her piano playing.

'You Loved Me' proves also again why Albert Ayler introduced her to ESP-Disk president Bernard Stollman, impressed Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders and Henry Grimes with her concerts and can count Patti Smith and Yoko Ono (to name a few) amongst her fans.

Blind musician Hrant Kenkulian (1901-1978), generally known as Oudi Hrant was a master of the oud (fretless lute) who was probably best known for his taksims. He was an Armenian born in Adapazar, a city close to Istanbul which had a large Armenian population before the Genocide of 1915. After WWI, Hrant's family settled in Istanbul. Hrant started out singing in the church choir, but soon moved on to the oud. He made his career in Istanbul, but he toured the US in 1950, and did a world tour in 1963 to Paris, Beirut, Greece, America, and Yerevan, Soviet Armenia. He was a teacher of many Armenian-American oudists including Richard Hagopian. He was the pride of the Armenian people, and many consider him to be the most soulful oudist ever to emerge from Turkey. Released in 1964 on jazz label Prestige the record shows the stunning classical inspiration of the musician.

Oscar Peterson's Frank Sinatra tribute features his trio with bassist Ray Brown & drummer Ed Thigpen. The renditions are all under four minutes and are highlighted by "Come Dance with Me," "Just in Time," "I Get a Kick Out of You," and "How About You?" This is one of Oscar Peterson's most essential dates—swinging and enjoyable.

VERVE BY REQUEST SERIES: remastered, audiophile-quality 180-gram vinyl from Third Man Pressing/Detroit, Single Sleeve

Limited Clear Vinyl edition, 500 copies! Originally released in 1961 by Prestige/New Jazz label, "Straight Ahead" marks the last Dolphy's appearance within a series of fortunate collaborations with saxophonist Oliver Nelson. This is a great modern jazz album taking shape from a quintet studio session (all first takes) engineered and supervised by master Rudy Van Gelder and featuring: Oliver Nelson - alto and tenor saxes, clarinet - Eric Dolphy - alto sax, bass clarinet, flute - Richard Wyands - piano - George Duvivier - double bass and Roy Haynes on drums. A serious bunch of jazz stylists all caught in fine form and concentration. Needless to add that the Nelson-Dolphy sax tandem shines throughout the whole album while Duvivier and Haynes inject their angular yet hard swinging groove. The track list consists of five Nelson's originals plus Milt Jackson's "Ralph's new blues".

180g

The singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone came to prominence in the late 1950s after she signed to the Bethlehem label for her debut album, Little Girl Blue. Her move to Coolpix Records, the audio subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, allowed her near total artistic control of her material and her lengthy tenure with the company brought plenty of popular album releases. The 1966 oddity Nina With Strings was issued by Coolpix a couple of years after she left the company to begin recording for Philips; a strange mix of live recordings and studio outtakes, released without her knowledge or permission where the presence of orchestral strings on several tracks gives the album its title and overriding theme.

180g Vinyl LP pressing. High Priestess of Soul is the last album Simone released under Philips Records. The songs are accompanied by a large band directed by Hal Mooney. The album contains popular songs, such as "Don't You Pay Them No Mind" and African American gospel and folk related songs written by Simone herself, such as "Take Me to the Water" and "Come Ye." After this album title, Nina Simone was sometimes referred to as "the high priestess of soul." Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist who worked in a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. Simone's musical style fused gospel and pop with classical music, in particular Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice.