Nina simone sinnerman live

Rooted in bluesy ballads with understated instrumentation, Nina Simone’s 1965 album Pastel Blues is a stark contrast from her uplifting, big band-oriented project I Put A Spell On You, released only four months before.

The short-and-sweet record finds Simone addressing the harsh realities of life with her signature candidness, such as the pain of heartbreak (the piano-assisted “Ain’t No Use”), and the enduring issue of racism in America (the haunting “Strange Fruit”).

Pastel Blues is Simone at her gutsiest; she takes the bare bones of the blues and makes it undeniably Nina.

In just nine songs, she showcases her unmatched ability to pair freedom with fearlessness through her undisputed emotional delivery, proving that her christening as the “High Priestess of Soul” is not just earned, but entirely befitting in more ways than one.

While much of Pastel Blues is sonically subdued, the album’s 10-minute grand fi