Kim Nalley certainly has the chops for this ambitious five-week residency at the Rrazz Room paying tribute to the truly unique Nina Simone.  Rather than mimic Simone, Nalley stays true to herself while putting the spotlight on the career and music of the legend.  Nalley can easily shift from a growlin’ blues number (the opener “Feeling Good”) to a soft ballad (“You Can Have Him” from Simone’s very early years), to gospel (“Trouble in Mind”) to the African rhythm beats of the wonderfully delivered “See-Line Women.” That alone is quite an accomplishment. Pianist Tammy Hall, guitarist Greg Skaff and drummer Kent Bryson flesh out the Nalley-Simone hybrid arrangements wonderfully.

Nalley is no stranger to Simone’s music, having performed and recorded this show soon after the singer’s death in 2003. Simone was a fascinating character: child prodigy; singer of showtunes and standards; militant civil rights activist; and accomplished composer. Nalley does justice to the breadth of Simone’s range through the selection of her material.  “Four Women,” a song about four different stereotypes of African-American women, has a  powerful  bite, as does the requisite “Mississippi Goddam.”  At the opposite extreme is Simone’s famous arrangement of “My Baby Just Cares for Me” and the lovely ballad culled from a Norwegian folk tune, “Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair.”

Nalley’s singing is big, bold and sassy.  She makes the tribute her own in her inimitable way. One cannot duplicate the hardness, bitterness and sense of urgency of Simone’s mid ‘60s anti-racism repertoire and it would be foolish to attempt a recreation. Nalley does a fine job of putting those songs into a context we can all relate to. Opening night’s audience was a who’s who of local talent (Denise Perrier, Lavay Smith, Linda Kosut, Frank Jackson, Clairdee, and Veronica Klaus) all there to support Nalley’s effort and pay homage to the great lady herself.  By the encore of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’  wild “I Put a Spell on You,” it was evident Nalley had done Simone right.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
June 14, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org