对近代乐坛影响深远的美国传奇爵士及R&B女歌手Nina Simone，前日在其法国马赛的寓所病逝，享年七十岁。据香港媒体报道，近年长期患病的Nina，前日早上在睡梦中安详地病逝，她的经理人赞扬Nina启发了不少后世乐手，她的积极和民权领袖角色将永远令人怀念。Nina三三年在北卡罗莱纳州出世，四岁开始弹钢琴，曾接受古典音乐训练，并于五九年推出首张细碟。她拥有雄浑而慑人的声线，并以歌词带有浓厚社会意识见称，近代歌手如Norah Jones、India.Arie、Peter Gabriel、Sade和Aretha Franklin等，都表示深受她的音乐薰陶。India.Arie更赞扬她道：“她是一个傲视同侪，能唱、能写和表达自己的出色钢琴手。”Nina Simone于七三年移居海外，其后表示是因国内的种族歧视而移民，她最后一次公开表演是于去年七月。


The Best of Nina Simone presents 12 tracks taken from the many recordings Simone did for Phillips in the '60s. As is often noted, Simone is a dynamic and powerful vocal interpreter who often brought her social consciousness directly into her artistry. Some of the material on this record would have been considered topical for the period when it was first issued. 20 years later (1985) much of it still retains the emotional power of its original time. Ignore the liner note hyperbole; this is in fact certainly some of the BEST of Simone. There's a universality to the emotion and text of this theatrical music - any doubts, just substitute the name "South Africa" for "Mississippi" in "...Goddamn." Too removed? Try your own locale.