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I've Sound, or simply called I've (アイブ, Aibu^?), is a Japanese techno/trance music production group based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Led by Kazuya Takase, it features the talents of seasoned "sound creators" and many different female vocalists, known as utahime (歌姫^?) to their fans.

They have created the theme songs for many Japanese adult games, most famously the opening "Tori no Uta" to Key's popular adult visual novel and anime Air. More recently, they have been creating the theme songs to anime series. Among anime fans, I've Sound is well known for providing the theme songs to such series as Black Lagoon, the Please! franchise (Please Teacher! and Please Twins!), the Shakugan no Shana series, Starship Operators, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, the Hayate the Combat Butler series, Nanatsuiro Drops, and Toaru Majutsu no Index.

History[link]

I've was founded in 1998 by members of the six-member Takase Fight. During this time they produced music for tsushin karaoke and adult game brands based in Hokkaidō. They also made two tracks for the Dancemania series, "If You Were Here" by Jennifer and "Is This The Way You Kill A Love" by Gina, both featured in Dance Dance Revolution.

They first assumed the name "I've" while working on the eroge Lips: egao no yukue in the autumn of 1998. Although production for the game was later cancelled, they were able to establish ties with Visual Art's, a computer game and software maker that most of I've's subsequent works are released under.

The first game I've officially produced music for was Hakidame: Trash, produced by Zero (a brand of Visual Art's) and released in February 1999, where they were credited as I've Sound. The game featured the songs "Fuck Me" and "Utsukushiku Ikitai".

I've's big break came when the popular adult PC game Kanon by Key was released in 1999, featuring the theme songs "Last Regrets" and "Kaze no Tadoritsuku Basho", both arranged by I've. This gained them a burst of fame among eroge gamers. These songs were later used as insert songs during Kanon's 2002 anime adaptation, and later as the main opening and ending themes in that anime's 2006 remake.

They released their first compilation album, Regret in December 1999.

In 2002, I've was hired to produce the music for their first anime series, Please Teacher!, which helped to further spread their name among otaku, and exposed them internationally.

In April 2004, Kotoko, one of I've's vocalists who worked on Please Teacher, made her major debut with the album Hane. This was followed by Mami Kawada's major debut (Radiance single) in February 2005, and Eiko Shimamiya's (Ulysses album) the same year in April. Mell and sound creator C.G mix made their major releases in 2006 (Red Fraction single and In Your Life album respectively). Most recently, Kaori Utatsuki also joined the ranks in August 2007 with the single Shining Stars Bless.

I've held their first concert on October 15, 2005 at Nippon Budokan.

In the weeks before the concert approached they launched a web radio I've Talk Jam, hosted by SHIHO with Kazuya Takase and Tomoyuki Nakazawa as regulars, and had a different I've vocalist appear as guest for each show. It ended after nine shows, shortly before the Budokan concert took place.

I've Sound provided their first live-action theme for the movie Real Onigokko, with Kotoko singing the theme song of the same name. They later provided the main themes for the live-action adaptation of the visual novel Higurashi no Naku Koro ni which was released in 2008, with Eiko Shimamiya performing the opening theme "Wheel of Fortune (Unmei no Wa)" as well as the ending theme "Diorama".

Members[link]

Sound creators[link]

• C.G mix
• Kazuya Takase (高瀬一矢) - the founder of I've Sound
• Maiko Iuchi (井内舞子) - also known as Miu Uetsu (羽越実有)
• Tomoyuki Nakazawa (中沢伴行)

Current artists[link]

• C.G mix
• Kaori Utatsuki (詩月カオリ)
• Mami Kawada (川田まみ)
• Mell (める)
• Airi Kirishima (桐島愛里)
• Nami Maisaki (舞崎なみ)
• Rin Asami (朝見琳)

Former and guest artists[link]

• Aki (also known as Y.Aki)
• Ayana (彩菜)
• Asame Miyazaki (宮崎麻芽) - Kotoko under a different name.
• Asuka Katagiri (片桐明日香) - Aki under a different name.
• Atsuhiko Nakatsubo (中坪淳彦), better known as FISH TONE
• Chiyo
• Eiko Shimamiya (島みやえい子) - also known as Eiko, Peko, 島宮えい子 (before 2006)
• Fuuran (風蘭) - Lia under a different name.
• Hiromi Satō (佐藤裕美)
• Iku
• Inosuke Tsutsumi (堤伊之助) - since Inosuke Tsutsumi is a fictitious person, the singer's real identity is unknown, but there are unconfirmed rumors that he is actually Kazuya Takase.
• Kotoko (ことこ)
• Lia
• MAKO
• Mary
• Mihi (美妃, occasionally mistaken for Miki)
• Miki
• Momo
• Orihime (織姫) - Mell under a different name.
• Outer - Kotoko under a different name.
• Reina (怜奈)
• R.I.E
• Rimikka
• Shiho
• Takami
• Usagi Tachibana (橘うさぎ) - Miki under a different name.
• Wata (NueroSocietia)
• Yucco (Yukko)
• Yumi Matsuzawa (松澤由美)

Other staff[link]

• Fukuko Tsujiuchi (辻内富久子) - artist manager
• Haruhiko "Harry" Yoshida (吉田春彦) - live band member for I've concerts, drums
• Hiroyuki Kobayashi (小林拡幸) - tour driver/at large
• Michihito Terayama (寺山亨史) - artist manager
• Naoki Itagaki (板垣直基)
• Takeshi Ozaki (尾崎武士)- guitar arrangements, live band member for I've concerts
• Yasutaka Ipposhi (一法師康孝) Executive Producer of I've Sound.

Discography[link]

[edit] Girls Compilation albums

• regret (1999)
• verge (2000)
• disintegration (2002)
• Lament (2003)
• Out Flow (2003)
• Collective (2005)
• Extract (2010)

Concept albums[link]

• Short Circuit (2003)
• Short Circuit II (2007)
• Short Circuit III (2010)

[edit] Comic Market releases

• Dirty Gift (2002)
• Mixed Up: I've Remix Style (2004)
• I've Mania Tracks Vol.I (2007)
• The Front Line Covers (2008)
• I've Mania Tracks Vol.II (2009)
• I've Mania Tracks Vol.III (2010)

Other CDs[link]

• I've Hard Stuff - Luding Out (?)
• I've Cure Trance Vol.1 - Psychedelic (?)
• I've Cure Trance Vol.2 - Psychedelic GOA (?)
• I've Trance Magic Vol.1 (?)
• I've Trance Magic Vol.2 (?)
• I've Trance Magic Vol.3 (?)
• I've verve - circle001 - Beyond the underground groove (?)
• I've verve - circle002 - beat spellbound-agitation mix (?)
• I've verve - circle003 - electronica-mayhem (?)
• I've verve - circle004 - Psychedelic Trance Edition (?)
• I've verve - circle005 - Psychedelic Trance Edition - Journey of Space Exploration- (?)
• I've Cure Trance Vol.3 - Psychedelic IBIZA (?)
• Master Groove Circle (2008)
• I've Sound 10th Anniversary: Departed to the future Special CD Box (2009)
• Master Groove Circle 2 (2009)
• I've Sound 10th Anniversary Departed to the Future (2009)

Videos[link]

• I've in Budokan 2005: Open the Birth Gate (2006)
• Short Circuit II Premium Show in Tokyo (2007)
• I've in Budokan 2009: Departed to the future (2009)

External links[link]

• Low Trance Assembly: I've Sound official site (Japanese)
• Low Trance Assembly: I've USA
• I've Sound Explorer (Japanese)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Mami Kawada (川田まみ, Kawada Mami^?, born February 13) is a Japanese pop singer^[1] from Sapporo, Japan who is currently signed to Geneon Entertainment. She is a member of the I've Sound who performs soundtracks for eroge games and anime. Some of her music was used as the opening or ending themes for anime series such as Please Teacher!, Please Twins!, Starship Operators, Shakugan no Shana, Baldr Force EXE Resolution OVA and Hayate the Combat Butler. Her debut single "Radiance", released on February 23, 2005, was used as the opening theme for the anime Starship Operators. Her most successful single was "Joint," released on October 31, 2007, and used as the first opening theme for the sequel of Shakugan no Shana, Shakugan no Shana II.

Biography[link]

Debut[link]

Mami Kawada's vocal talent was first discovered by Eiko Shimamiya, who was her teacher at a vocal school in Sapporo, Hokkaido. She was introduced to I've Sound, a music production group whom Shimamiya was a member of. Kawada would later become a member of I've Sound. In 2001, she released her debut song with I've Sound was "Kaze to Kimi wo Daite" (風と君を抱いて^?), which was the opening theme for the eroge miss you. The song was featured in the I've Sound's 5th Compilation Album Out Flow.

In 2002, she began performing anime theme songs, as well as theme songs for visual novels. Her first anime song was "Sora no Mori de" (空の森で^?), which serves as the ending theme for the anime Please Teacher!, while co-I've Sound singer Kotoko performed the opening theme "Shooting Star". In the same year, Kawada and Shimamiya grouped themselves as the band Healing Leaf and performed theme songs for some visual novels.^[which?] Only one of the songs, however, was featured in the I've Girls Compilation, "Ame ni Utau Ballad" (雨に歌う譚詩曲^?).

In mid-2003, she performed the ending theme of the anime Please Twins!, the sequel to Please Teacher!, "Asu e no Namida" (明日への涙^?) while Kotoko performed the opening theme "Second Flight" together with J-pop singer Hiromi Satō.

[edit] Seed (2005–2006)

In 2005, Mami Kawada signed a contract with Geneon Entertainment and released her major debut single "Radiance / Chi ni Kaeru: On the Earth", which was used as the opening theme for the anime Starship Operators. This marked the beginning of her career as a songwriter/vocalist. "Radiance" was written by her and accompanied by Kotoko. She began to write her own lyrics in her following releases.

In late 2005, she released her second single "Hishoku no Sora" (緋色の空^?, Scarlet-Colored Sky), which became the opening theme for the anime series Shakugan no Shana. It became her best-selling single and sold approximately 37,000 copies, garnering 11th in the Oricon weekly charts.

In March 2006, Kawada and Kotoko released a split single for the OVA adaptation of the game Baldr Force. Kawada performed the ending theme, "Undelete," while Kotoko performed the opening theme "Face of Fact (Resolution ver.)", a remix of her first song which was featured in the game version. Four weeks after the release of this split single, Kawada released her debut album Seed, which contained seven new songs, four songs from her first three singles, and one visual novel theme song which was released back in 2004^[which?]. The album reached #12 in the Oricon weekly charts and charted for five weeks selling more than 25,000 units.

After almost two months, Mami Kawada had her first live tour wherein she performed her album songs live and distributed a pamphlet CD containing two songs—one instrumental, and her first composed song "Carpe Diem".

[edit] Savia (2007)

After her success with "Hishoku no Sora", Kawada performed an insert song for the Shakugan no Shana movie "Akai Namida" (赤い涙, Red Tears^?) in May 2007. She also sang "Tenjou wo Kakeru Monotachi" (天壌を翔る者たち^?), the movie's ending theme together with Kotoko, Shimamiya, Mell and Kaori Utatsuki under the name Love Planet Five.

Three months later, she performed the second ending theme of the series Hayate the Combat Butler "Get My Way!". This single is different from her previous singles, since the song has a more punk rock feel.

Soon after, Kawada came back with a more developed rock sound, evident in her opening theme single for the second installment of the anime series Shakugan no Shana, "Joint", as well as the ending theme "Triangle". "Joint" was released on October 31, 2007 and marked her first top 10 single entry since it reached #9 in its first week on the Oricon weekly charts. Overall, it sold 36,572 copies and charted for a total 19 weeks making this her longest-charting single.

After Kawada's success with her fifth single, she made her first live tour outside Japan, on January 19, 2008, at the KHS Hall in Taiwan.

In late March 2008, Kawada released her second album Savia, which contained nine new songs. The album included the final ending theme to the second installment of Shakugan no Shana, "Sense", as well as her first non-anime theme song and four songs from the three singles she released^[which?]. Although it did not do well in the Oricon charts, after less than six months, Kawada had her second live tour for her second album.

[edit] Linkage (2008–2010)

After a year of not releasing a single, Kawada performed the opening themes of the anime series Toaru Majutsu no Index, "PSI-Missing" and "Masterpiece". Both of the coupling songs, "Ame" (雨^?) and "Jellyfish", were also used as insert songs in the series. In autumn 2008, Kawada established her official website together with her official fan club "M.A.L.L.", which stands for "Mami Artist Lasting Live."

In June 2009, Kawada released her maxi single "L'Oiseau bleu". This single is also present in the I've Sound 10th Anniversary 「Departed to the future」 Special CD BOX, which was released earlier by the group on March 25, 2009.

Kawada also performed the opening and ending themes for the original video animation series of Shakugan no Shana, Shakugan no Shana S, which was her fifth time performing for the anime series. The opening theme "Prophecy" came out as a maxi single on November 18, 2009 while the ending theme "All in Good Time", was not included in the single.

On March 24, 2010, Kawada released her third album Linkage, which contains 13 tracks. Her latest singles "PSI-Missing," "Masterpiece" and "Prophecy" were all included in the album. The album also contained the ending theme Shakugan no Shana S, "All in Good Time", as well as a cover of the song "Dreams", originally performed by the Irish rock band The Cranberries. After two weeks, Kawada had her third live tour to promote her latest album.

Kawada started writing lyrics for other I've singers. Her first song written for other I've Sound members was "A piece of my heart", the ending theme for the eroge Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, sung by newcomer Nami Maisaki, who became an I've singer in May of that year.^[2]

2010 to present[link]

After another year of not releasing a single, Kawada performed the opening theme of the second season of the anime series Toaru Majutsu no Index, "No buts!", which eventually became her highest charting single to date reaching #6 on its first week in the Oricon weekly charts.^[3][4]

On February 16, 2011, she released her 10th single "See visionS", the second opening theme for the second season of Toaru Majutsu no Index. Four months later, she wrote the lyrics for the song "Lead to the smile", the solo debut of I've singer Rin Asami, who started her career that year. She also performed the second opening theme of the third installment of Shakugan no Shana "Serment". The song was released as a single on February 1, 2012. She also performed the song "u/n" which served as the ending theme of episode 15 of Shakugan no Shana Final as well as that series' final ending theme "Kōbō" (光芒, Beam of Light^?). She is set to release a new album titled Square the circle in August 2012.

Discography[link]

• Seed (2006)
• Savia (2008)
• Linkage (2010)
• Square the circle (2012)
• Borderland (Single, 30.05.2012)

Live performances[link]

• I've in BUDOKAN 2005 ～Open the Birth Gate～ (October 15, 2005)
• MAMI KAWADA FIRST LIVE TOUR 2006 "SEED" (May 20, 2006)
• MAMI KAWADA 2008 January LIVE IN TAIWAN (January 19, 2008)
• Mami Kawada Official Fan Club Establishment Commemoration Event Special Video Concert "MAMI KAWADA 2008 January LIVE IN TAIWAN"
• MAMI KAWADA LIVE TOUR 2008 "SAVIA"
• I've in BUDOKAN 2009 ～Departed to the Future～ (January 2, 2009)
• MAMI KAWADA LIVE IN SHIBUYA 2011 "See visionS" (May 4 and May 5, 2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Geneon page (Japanese)
• Official Website (Japanese)
• I've Sound Explorer (Japanese)
• I've Sound Forum (Chinese)
• Oricon Profile (Japanese)
• Twitter profile (Japanese)
• Mami Kawada at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Mami Kawada discography at MusicBrainz

Nina Simone
Simone at a concert in Morlaix, France May 1982
Background information
Birth name	Eunice Kathleen Waymon
Born	(1933-02-21)February 21, 1933 Tryon, North Carolina, United States
Died	April 21, 2003(2003-04-21) (aged 70) Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Genres	Jazz, blues, R&B, folk, gospel
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, activist
Years active	1954–2003
Labels	Bethlehem, Colpix, Philips, RCA Victor, CTI, Legacy Recordings
Website	http://www.ninasimone.com/

Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone /ˈniːnə sɨˈmoʊn/, was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.

Born the sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist as a child.^[1] Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. Simone was later told by someone working at Curtis that she was rejected because she was black.^[2] She then began playing in a small club in Philadelphia to fund her continuing musical education to become a classical pianist and was required to sing as well. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendition of "I Loves You Porgy" became a smash hit in the United States in 1958.^[1] Over the length of her career, Simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958 — when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue — and 1974.

Her musical style arose from a fusion of gospel and pop songs with classical music, in particular with influences from her first inspiration, Johann Sebastian Bach,^[3] and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in her characteristic low tenor. She injected as much of her classical background into her music as possible to give it more depth and quality, as she felt that pop music was inferior to classical.^[4] Her intuitive grasp on the audience-performer relationship was gained from a unique background of playing piano accompaniment for church revivals and sermons regularly from the early age of six years.^[5]

After 20 years of performing, she became involved in the civil rights movement and the direction of her life shifted once again.^[4] Simone's music was highly influential in the fight for equal rights in the US.^[6]

Biography[link]

Youth (1933–1954)[link]

Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina. The sixth of eight children in a poor family, she began playing piano at age three; the first song she learned was "God Be With You, Till We Meet Again". Demonstrating a talent with the instrument, she performed at her local church, but her concert debut, a classical recital, was given when she was twelve. Simone later said that during this performance her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for white people. Simone said she refused to play until her parents were moved back to the front,^[7][8] and that the incident contributed to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.

Simone's mother, Mary Kate Waymon, was a strict Methodist minister and a housemaid. Simone's father, John Divine Waymon, was a handyman who at one time owned a dry cleaning business, but who also suffered bouts of ill health. Mary Kate's employer, hearing of her daughter's talent, provided funds for piano lessons.^[9] Subsequently, a local fund was set up to assist in Simone's continued education. With the assistance of this scholarship money she attended high school.

After finishing high school, she had studied for an interview with the help of a private tutor to study piano further at the Curtis Institute, but she was rejected. Simone believed that this rejection was related directly to her race.^[10] Simone then moved to New York City, where she studied at the Juilliard School of Music.

Early success (1954–1959)[link]

To fund her private lessons, Simone performed at the Midtown Bar & Grill on Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City, whose owner insisted that she sing as well as play the piano. In 1954 she adopted the stage name Nina Simone. "Nina" (from niña, meaning 'little girl' in Spanish) was a nickname a boyfriend had given to her, and "Simone" was taken from the French actress Simone Signoret, whom she had seen in the movie Casque d'or.^[11] Simone's mixture of jazz, blues, and classical music in her performances at the bar earned her a small, but loyal, fan base.^[12]

In 1958, she befriended and married Don Ross, a beatnik who worked as a fairground barker, but quickly regretted their marriage.^[13] After playing in small clubs, in 1958 she recorded a rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy" (from Porgy and Bess), which she learned from a Billie Holiday album and performed as a favor to a friend. It became her only Billboard top 40 success in the United States, and her debut album Little Girl Blue soon followed on Bethlehem Records. Simone missed out on more than $1 million in royalties (mainly because of the successful re-release of My Baby Just Cares for Me during the 1980s) and never benefited financially from the album, because she had sold her rights to it for $3,000.^[14]

Becoming popular (1959–1964)[link]

After the success of Little Girl Blue, Simone signed a contract with Colpix Records, and recorded a string of studio and live albums. Colpix relinquished all creative control to her, including the choice of material that would be recorded, in exchange for her signing the contract with them. At this point, Simone only performed pop music to make money to continue her classical music studies, and was indifferent about having a recording contract. She kept this attitude toward the record industry for most of her career.^[15]

Simone married a New York police detective, Andrew Stroud, in 1961; Stroud later became her manager.^[16]

Civil rights era (1964–1974)[link]

In 1964, she changed record distributors, from the American Colpix to the Dutch Philips, which also meant a change in the contents of her recordings. Simone had always included songs in her repertoire that drew upon her African-American origins (such as "Brown Baby" and "Zungo" on Nina at the Village Gate in 1962). On her debut album for Philips, Nina Simone In Concert (live recording, 1964), however, Simone for the first time openly addressed the racial inequality that was prevalent in the United States with the song "Mississippi Goddam", her response to the murder of Medgar Evers and the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four black children. The song was released as a single, and it was boycotted in certain southern states.^[17][18] "Old Jim Crow", on the same album, addressed the Jim Crow Laws.

From then on, a civil rights message was standard in Simone's recording repertoire, becoming a part of her live performances. Simone performed and spoke at many civil rights meetings, such as at the Selma to Montgomery marches.^[19] Simone advocated violent revolution during the civil rights period, rather than Martin Luther King's non-violent approach,^[20] and she hoped that African Americans could, by armed combat, form a separate state. Nevertheless, she wrote in her autobiography that she and her family regarded all races as equal.^[21]

She covered Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit", a song about the lynching of black men in the South, on Pastel Blues (1965). She also sang the W. Cuney poem "Images" on Let It All Out (1966), about the absence of pride she saw among African-American women. Simone wrote "Four Women", a song about four different stereotypes of African-American women,^[17] and included the recording on her 1966 album Wild Is the Wind.

Simone moved from Philips to RCA Victor during 1967. She sang "Backlash Blues", written by her friend Langston Hughes on her first RCA album, Nina Simone Sings The Blues (1967). On Silk & Soul (1967), she recorded Billy Taylor's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" and "Turning Point". The album Nuff Said (1968) contains live recordings from the Westbury Music Fair, April 7, 1968, three days after the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. She dedicated the whole performance to him and sang "Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)", a song written by her bass player, Gene Taylor, directly after the news of King's death had reached them.^[22] In the summer of 1969 she performed at the Harlem Cultural Festival in Harlem's Mount Morris Park.

Together with Weldon Irvine, Simone turned the late Lorraine Hansberry's unfinished play To Be Young, Gifted, and Black into a civil rights song. Hansberry had been a personal friend whom Simone credited with cultivating her social and political consciousness. She performed the song live on the album Black Gold (1970). A studio recording was released as a single, and renditions of the song have been recorded by Aretha Franklin (on her 1972 album Young, Gifted and Black) and by Donny Hathaway.^[17][21]

Later life (1974–2003)[link]

Simone left the United States in September 1970, flying to Barbados and expecting Stroud to communicate with her when she had to perform again. However, Stroud interpreted Simone's sudden disappearance, and the fact that she had left behind her wedding ring, as an indication of a desire for a divorce. As her manager, Stroud was in charge of Simone's income.

When Simone returned to the United States she learned that a warrant had been issued for her arrest for unpaid taxes (as a protest against her country's involvement with the Vietnam War), causing her to return to Barbados again to evade the authorities and prosecution.^[23] Simone stayed in Barbados for quite some time and she had a lengthy affair with the Prime Minister, Errol Barrow.^[24][25] A close friend, singer Miriam Makeba, then persuaded her to go to Liberia. Later, she lived in Switzerland and the Netherlands, before settling in France during 1992.

She recorded her last album for RCA, It Is Finished, during 1974. Simone did not make another record until 1978, when she was persuaded to go into the recording studio by CTI Records owner Creed Taylor. The result was the album Baltimore, which, while not a commercial success, did get good reviews and marked a quiet artistic renaissance in Simone's recording output.^[26] Her choice of material retained its eclecticism, ranging from spiritual songs to Hall & Oates' "Rich Girl". Four years later Simone recorded Fodder On My Wings on a French label. During the 1980s Simone performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, where she recorded the album Live at Ronnie Scott's in 1984. Although her early on-stage style could be somewhat haughty and aloof, in later years, Simone particularly seemed to enjoy engaging her audiences sometimes by recounting humorous anecdotes related to her career and music and by soliciting requests. In 1987, the original 1958 recording of "My Baby Just Cares For Me" was used in a commercial for Chanel No. 5 perfume in the United Kingdom. This led to a re-release of the recording, which stormed to number 4 on the UK's NME singles chart, giving her a brief surge in popularity in the UK. Her autobiography, I Put a Spell on You, was published in 1992. She recorded her last album, A Single Woman, in 1993.

In 1993, Simone settled near Aix-en-Provence in Southern France. She had suffered from breast cancer for several years before she died in her sleep at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône on April 21, 2003. (In addition, Simone received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in the late 1980s).^[27] Her funeral service was attended by singers Miriam Makeba and Patti Labelle, poet Sonia Sanchez, actor Ossie Davis, and hundreds of others. Elton John sent a floral tribute with the message "You were the greatest and I love you".^[28] Simone's ashes were scattered in several African countries. She left behind a daughter, Lisa Celeste Stroud, an actress and singer, who took the stage name Simone, and has appeared on Broadway in Aida.^[29]

Musical style[link]

Simone standards[link]

Throughout her career, Simone assembled a collection of songs that would become standards in her repertoire. These songs were self-written tunes, tributes to works by others with a new arrangement by Simone, or songs written especially for Simone. Her first hit song in America was her rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You, Porgy" (1958). It peaked at number 18 in the pop singles chart and number 2 on the black singles chart.^[30] During that same period Simone recorded "My Baby Just Cares for Me", which would become her biggest success years later, in 1987, when it was featured in a Chanel No. 5 perfume commercial. A music video was created by Aardman Studios for the commercial.^[31]

Well known songs from her Philips albums include "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" on Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964), "I Put a Spell on You", "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (a rendition of a Jacques Brel song) and "Feeling Good" on I Put A Spell On You (1965), "Lilac Wine" and "Wild Is the Wind" on Wild is the Wind (1966).^[32] Especially the songs "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Feeling Good", and "Sinnerman" (Pastel Blues, 1965) have great popularity today in terms of cover versions (most notably a version of the former song by The Animals), sample usage, and its use on soundtracks for various movies, TV-series, and video games. "Sinnerman", in particular, has been featured in the TV series Scrubs, Person of Interest, and Sherlock, and on movies such as The Thomas Crown Affair, Miami Vice, and Inland Empire, and sampled by artists such as Talib Kweli and Timbaland. The song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was sampled by Devo Springsteen on "Misunderstood" from Common's 2007 album Finding Forever, and by little-known producers Rodnae and Mousa for the song "Don't Get It" on Lil Wayne's 2008 album Tha Carter III. The song "See-Line Woman" was sampled by Kanye West for "Bad News" on his album 808s and Heartbreak.

Simone's years at RCA-Victor spawned a number of singles and album tracks that were popular, particularly in Europe. In 1968, it was "Ain't Got No, I Got Life", a medley from the musical Hair from the album 'Nuff Said! (1968) that became a surprise hit for Simone, reaching number 4 on the UK pop charts and introducing her to a younger audience.^[33] In 2006, it returned to the UK Top 30 in a remixed version by Groovefinder. The following single, the Bee Gees' rendition of "To Love Somebody" also reached the UK top 10 in 1969. "House of the Rising Sun" was featured on Nina Simone Sings The Blues in 1967, but Simone had recorded the song in 1961 and it was featured on Nina At The Village Gate (1962), predating the versions by Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan.^[34][35] It was later covered by The Animals, for whom it became a signature hit.

Performing style[link]

Simone's bearing and stage presence earned her the title "High Priestess of Soul".^{[citation needed]} She was a piano player, singer, and performer, "separately and simultaneously".^[16] On stage, Simone moved from gospel to blues, jazz, and folk, to numbers with European classical styling, and Bach-style fugal counterpoint. She incorporated monologues and dialogues with the audience into the program, and often used silence as a musical element.^[36] Simone compared it to "mass hypnosis. I use it all the time".^[21] Throughout most of her life and recording career she was accompanied by percussionist Leopoldo Fleming and guitarist and musical director Al Schackman.^[37]

Simone had a reputation in the music industry for her volatility. In 1995, she shot and wounded her neighbor's son with a pneumatic pistol after his laughter disturbed her concentration.^[38] She also fired a gun at a record company executive whom she accused of stealing royalties.^[39] According to a biographer, Simone took medication for a condition from the mid-1960s on.^[40] All this was only known to a small group of intimates, and kept out of public view for many years, until the biography Break Down And Let It All Out written by Sylvia Hampton and David Nathan revealed this in 2004 after her death.

Legacy and influence[link]

Music[link]

Musicians who have cited Simone as important for their own musical upbringing include Antony and the Johnsons, Nick Cave, Van Morrison, Christina Aguilera, Elkie Brooks, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Kanye West, Lena Horne, Bono, John Legend, Elizabeth Fraser, Cat Stevens, Anna Calvi, Peter Gabriel, Maynard James Keenan, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Mary J. Blige, Michael Gira, Angela McCluskey, Lauryn Hill, Patrice Babatunde, Alicia Keys, Ian MacKaye, Kerry Brothers, Jr. "Krucial", Amanda Palmer, Steve Adey and Jeff Buckley.^{[17][41][42][43][44]} John Lennon cited Simone's version of "I Put a Spell on You" as a source of inspiration for the Beatles song "Michelle".^[44] Musicians who have covered her work (or her specific renditions of songs) include Black Rock Coalition Orchestra, J.Viewz, Carola, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Marilyn Manson, Donny Hathaway, David Bowie, Elkie Brooks, Roberta Flack, Jeff Buckley, Kimbra, The Animals, Nick Cave, Shivaree (band), Ambrosia Parsley, Muse, Cat Power, Katie Melua, Timbaland, Feist, Shara Worden, Common, Lil Wayne, and Michael Bublé. Simone's music has been featured in soundtracks of various motion pictures and video games, including but not limited to, The Big Lebowski (1998), Point of No Return (AKA The Assassin, 1993), Notting Hill (1999), Any Given Sunday (1999), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Six Feet Under (2001), The Dancer Upstairs (film) (2002), Before Sunset (2004), Cellular (2004), Inland Empire (2006), Miami Vice (2006), Sex and the City (2008), The World Unseen (2008), Revolutionary Road (2008), Watchmen (2009), The Saboteur (2009), Repo Men (2010). Frequently her music is used in remixes, commercials, and TV series including Feelin' Good featured prominently in the Season Four Promo of Six Feet Under, 2004.

Film[link]

The documentary Nina Simone: La Legende (The Legend) was made in the 1990s by French filmmakers,^[21] based on her autobiography I Put A Spell On You. It features live footage from different periods of her career, interviews with friends and family, various interviews with Simone then living in the Netherlands, and while on a trip to her birthplace. A portion of footage from The Legend was taken from an earlier 26-minute biographical documentary by Peter Rodis, released in 1969 and entitled simply, Nina.^[45]

Her filmed 1976 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival is available on video courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and it is screened annually in New York City at an event called, "The Rise and Fall of Nina Simone: Montreux, 1976,", which is curated by Tom Blunt.^[46]

Plans for a Nina Simone biographical film were released at the end of 2005, to be based on Simone's autobiography I Put A Spell On You (1992) and to focus on her relationship in later life with her assistant, Clifton Henderson, who died in 2006. TV writer Cynthia Mort (Will & Grace, Roseanne) is working on the script, and singer Mary J. Blige will play the lead role. Release of the movie is scheduled for 2012.^[47]

Her song "Sinnerman" was used in the 1999 film "The Thomas Crown Affair" as well as the award winning documentary "Sharkwater" by Rob Stewart in 2007.

Her song "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good" was used in the 1998 film "The Big Lebowski"

Her music was used in the S4C show, "Alys", in 2010.

A song sung by Nina Simone on her 1970 live album, Black Gold, is used in the film The Dancer Upstairs.

In the film Point of No Return, the protagonist choses "Nina" as her codename in honor of Simone, her mother's favorite musical artist as well as her own. Simone's music features prominently in the film.

The final scene of the film Before Sunset involves the protagonists discussing and playing a Nina Simone CD, with one of them singing along with "Just in Time" while imitating the performer's stage moves.

Honors[link]

On Human Kindness Day 1974 in Washington, D.C., more than 10,000 people paid tribute to Nina Simone.^[48][49] Simone received two honorary degrees in music and humanities, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Malcolm X College.^[50] She preferred to be called "Dr. Nina Simone" after these honors were bestowed upon her.^[51] Only two days before her death, Simone was awarded an honorary degree by the Curtis Institute, the music school that had refused to admit her as a student at the beginning of her career.^[52] In 2010, Tryon, NC erected a statue in her honor along Trade street.

Discography[link]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Brun-Lambert, David (October 2006) [2006] (in Dutch, translated from French original). Nina Simone, het tragische lot van een uitzonderlijke zangeres. Introduction by Lisa Celeste Stroud, afterword by Gerrit de Bruin. Zwolle: Sirene. ISBN 90-5831-425-1. 
• Feldstein, Ruth (March 2005). ""I Don't Trust You Anymore": Nina Simone, Culture, and Black Activism in the 1960s". Journal of American History 91 (4). 
• Hampton, Sylvia (2004) [2004]. Break Down and Let It All Out. David Nathan, introduction by Lisa Celeste Stroud. London: Sanctuary. ISBN 1-86074-552-0. 
• Simone, Nina; Stephen Cleary (2003) [1992]. I Put a Spell on You. introduction by Dave Marsh (2nd ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80525-1. 

External links[link]

	Book: Nina Simone
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nina Simone

Music portal

Main sites[link]

• Official website
• Nina Simone discography at Discogs
• Nina Simone discography at iMusic.am
• Nina Simone in the Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians
• Nina Simone at Legacy Recordings
• The Nina Simone Database – comprehensive Nina Simone website
• L'hommage: Nina Simone – tribute and archival site

Reviews and other sites[link]

• Nina Simone at The Music Box – a collection of reviews
• Eunice Waymon-Nina Simone Memorial Project North Carolina-based scholarship, statue & music festival
• Nina Simone Biography at About.com
• Obituary from The Daily Telegraph
• Nina Simone: The "Princess Noire" - audio report by NPR

v t e Nina Simone Studio albums Little Girl Blue Nina Simone and Her Friends The Amazing Nina Simone Forbidden Fruit Nina Simone Sings Ellington Broadway-Blues-Ballads I Put a Spell on You Pastel Blues Nina Simone with Strings Wild Is the Wind High Priestess of Soul Nina Simone Sings the Blues Silk & Soul Nina Simone and Piano To Love Somebody Here Comes the Sun Baltimore Fodder on My Wings Nina's Back A Single Woman Compilation albums Nina's Choice The Rising Sun Collection Released Gold Anthology Nina Simone's Finest Hour The Soul of Nina Simone The Very Best of Nina Simone Songs to Sing: the Best of Nina Simone To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story Live albums Nina Simone at Newport Nina at the Village Gate Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall Folksy Nina Nina Simone in Concert Black Gold Backlash Live & Kickin Let It Be Me Live at Ronnie Scott's A Very Rare Evening The Great Show Live In Paris Live and studio Nina Simone at Town Hall Let It All Out 'Nuff Said! Emergency Ward It Is Finished Remix albums Remixed and Reimagined Forever Young, Gifted & Black: Songs of Freedom and Spirit Songs and singles "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" "Alone Again (Naturally)" "Angel of the Morning" "Ballad of Hollis Brown" "Baubles, Bangles, & Beads" "Black Is the Colour (Of My True Love's Hair)" "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" "Cherish" "Cotton-Eyed Joe" "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" "Exactly Like You" "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)" "Feeling Good" "Fine and Mellow" "For All We Know" "Four Women" "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" "Here Comes the Sun" "The House of the Rising Sun" "I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)" "I Loves You, Porgy" "I Put a Spell on You" "I Shall Be Released" "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" "If I Should Lose You" "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" "It Might as Well Be Spring" "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" "Just Like a Woman" "Lilac Wine" "Little Girl Blue" "The Look of Love" "Love Me or Leave Me" "Mississippi Goddam" "Mood Indigo" "The More I See You" "Mr. Bojangles" "My Baby Just Cares for Me" "My Sweet Lord" "My Way" "Ne me quitte pas" "Nobody" "Nobody's Fault but Mine" "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" "The Pusher" "Rich Girl" "(In My) Solitude" "Satin Doll" "Sea Lion Woman" "Sign o' the Times" "Since I Fell for You" "Sinner Man" "Someone to Watch Over Me" "Something Wonderful" "Spring Is Here" "Strange Fruit" "Summertime" "Suzanne" "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" "That's All" "That's All I Want from You" "The Times They Are a-Changin'" "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" "To Love Somebody" "Trouble in Mind" "Turn! Turn! Turn!" "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" "Wild is the Wind" "Willow Weep for Me" "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" Book:Nina Simone

All Angels are a British classical crossover group formed in 2006, consisting of Daisy Chute, Rachel Fabri, Melanie Nakhla and Charlotte Ritchie.^[1] The group's style is classical crossover music and close harmony arrangement, with a repertoire spanning classical, choral, opera and pop including Franz Schubert's Ellens dritter Gesang, Agnus Dei (the choral arrangement of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings) and the Sancta Maria intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, along with the Flower Duet from Léo Delibes' Lakmé and the Barcarolle from Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, plus pop songs such as Robbie Williams' Angels, Fleetwood Mac's Songbird, Coldplay's The Scientist, True Colours, Goodnight my Angel (Billy Joel) Muses' Starlight and Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U. They have also performed the National Anthem at Twickenham and at the England vs. USA football match in Wembley Stadium in the summer of 2008.^[2]

They recorded their first three albums with Universal and have over 1 million sales. Their self-titled debut album, All Angels was released in 2006, and their second album, Into Paradise was released on 26 November 2007. A third album Fly away was released in January 2010. Songs on this album include Norah Jones's Come Away With Me, Send In The Clowns, Bob Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind, Eric Whitacre's Sleep, and a duet with The Harlem Gospel Choir on I'll Fly Away. They have sold over 1,000,000 albums to date. All Angels are managed by TCB Group.^[3]

They undertook a UK tour supporting Katherine Jenkins in Summer 2009 and completed an arena tour later that year with Young Voices. The have been invited to perform in Los Angeles as part of the Inspiration Awards raising money for a Breast Cancer charity they have been affiliated with for the last four years.

History[link]

All Angels signed a five album deal with Universal Classics and Jazz in 2006 to be targeted at the populist classical crossover market. Each of the groups members had to go through an audition process in order to join the group,^[4] and were selected from 120 auditionees. Their first live performance was at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea, London.^[5]

The group released their first album at the end of 2006, entering the United Kingdom (UK) charts at number nine. It was the UK's fastest selling debut for a classical act and won them a platinum disc, and was also nominated in the Classical BRIT Awards album of the year category in 2007.^[6] They sang in front of the Queen at the Festival of Remembrance held at the Royal Albert Hall on 9 November and at Silence in the Square, a concert held in Trafalgar Square on 11 November.^[7] In December 2006 they released the single Angels, the first ever Christmas single to be released in association with the Royal British Legion and their Poppy Appeal.

They sang at the Classical BRIT Award ceremony held on 3 May and broadcast on ITV on 6 May.^[8]

They made a cameo appearance in the British soap opera, Emmerdale during a wedding on 9 October 2007 singing Songbird.^[9] They again sang at the Festival of Remembrance on 10 November. On 26 November they released a second album, Into Paradise, which features Nothing Compares 2 U and Sancte Deus. At the same time the album was released the winner was announced of the national Angel Idol competition, run in conjunction with Classic FM to find a fifth member for the group. The winner was Alexandra Lawrie who then had the opportunity to record a track and perform with the girls at a concert in London on 28 November.^[10]

They appeared on the BBC Radio 4 2007 Christmas Service, held at Wesley's Chapel in London^[11] and on the BBC 2007 New Year's Eve show, singing Nothing Compares 2 U.

On 14 January 2008 All Angels sang The Sound of Silence and Pie Jesu in a one-off concert at the International Eisteddfod’s launch in Cardiff. They appeared at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen on 11 July 2008.^[12][13] On 27 January they appeared on Songs of Praise on BBC One.^[14] In 2008 they embarked on a Cathedral tour in the Spring and further touring at open air concerts venues including Sandringham and Gawsworth Hall. They performed for the "Make a wish Foundation Summer Ball at Blenheim Palace. They went into the recording studio at the end of 2008 and into early 2009 recording tracks for their third cd.

On 13 October 2009 All Angels performed a concert at Paisley Abbey with the Glasgow-based Les Sirènes Female Chamber Choir as part of the Paisley Choral Festival. The two groups collaborated on the song I'll Fly Away as a joint finale. They also performed their own concert at The Thaxted Festival.

On 10 December 2009, they participated in the Birmingham Young Voices concert. They sang with VV Brown, a singer from Northampton. All Angels are preparing for an EP to come out in november-december time of 2010. They are also returning for a secound year to participate in the yound voices tour 2010 which kicked off in Birmingham where they shared the stage with Island artists such as Dionne Bromfield (Amy Winehouse's goddaughter) and Josh Osho. They have performed several times at charity dinners at The Houses of Parliament and at many private corporate occasions. They were honoured to be performing in the Spring of 2011 for the 90th Anniversary for the Royal British Legion in Alicante, Spain. All Angels were thrilled to be asked to record the theme to the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final and to perform it at the match at Wembley Stadium between Barcelona and Manchester United.

Members[link]

Daisy Chute[link]

Daisy Chute (born 17 August 1989) ^[15] is from Edinburgh. She studied at St Mary's Music School Edinburgh,where she was a chorister at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral and Loretto School^[4] and began her performing career at the age of nine as the young Cosette in the touring production of Les Misérables. At the age of thirteen she appeared as a young Judy Garland in Stars In Their Eyes Kids, and made her first appearance on the Edinburgh Fringe. At fifteen she recorded her debut album, Simply Jazz after she performed with a trio at a jazz cabaret show at the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. A track from her Simply Jazz album was played by Humphrey Lyttelton on his BBC Radio 2 Best of Jazz show making Chute the youngest performer to ever be showcased on his show. Chute finished her secondary schooling at the Purcell School of Music in Bushey, Hertfordshireon full scholarship, where she studied voice, piano and composition and gained 3 A's at A level examinations.^[16] In 2005 she was a joint winner, of a Scottish songwriting competition for the music festival Burnsong, with her song, Promises to Keep. All the winning songs were performed professionally and broadcast live on BBC Radio Scotland.^[17]

After meeting composer, Howard Goodall at the Royal Albert Hall's School Proms where she was fronting Loretto School ensemble, she was asked to sing on his television show, How Music Works^[16] where she performed the Shaker song 'Tis A Gift To Be Simple with Anastacia Nosobin on guitar on the first programme of the series.^[18] Howard Goodall recommended Daisy for inclusion in ALL ANGELS.She also recorded the theme tune for the BBC Radio series What is Melody written by Dr Richard Niles.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2006 she was a "Highly Commended" finalist in the joint BBC Proms and The Guardian newspaper Young Composer Competition.^[19]

On 24 September 2006 she performed at Wigmore Hall in London,^[20] giving a solo recital of Alec Wilder songs. She was signed to Universal Classics and Jazz (UCJ) on the day she turned seventeen, as part of All Angels.^[16] Chute has also had a brief stint presenting the CBBC news programme, Newsround at the Pop Poll Awards and interviewed Ronan Keating, Billie Piper and Westlife.^{[citation needed]} In summer 2008, she was featured in Highland Heartbeat, a Scottish music special filmed by American broadcaster PBS and broadcast throughout the USA in the Spring of 2009.^{[citation needed]} She performed last year touring the music societies as guest vocalist with classical guitarist, Simon Thacker and Camerata Ritmata.

In 2008 Chute won the Scottish Music Centre's Young Composer's competition.^{[citation needed]}

She has now received a Bachelor of Music degree at King's College, University of London.^{[citation needed]}

Melanie Nakhla[link]

Melanie Nakhla (born 29 December 1988 in Malta) She moved with her family to Shrewsbury, Shropshire when she was three years old, where she attended Prestfelde School. She also attended Shrewsbury High School, until the age of 15. She began singing at a young age, joining the Shrewsbury Children's Choir when she was eight years old.^[5] She competed in the Oswestry Eisteddfod when she was ten years old coming first in a singing competition.^[21] She was a student at Wycombe Abbey in High Wycombe where she was head of choir.^[4][5] She has also appeared at the opening of the Severn Theatre in Shrewsbury. She is studying French and Spanish at University College London.^{[citation needed]}

Charlotte Ritchie[link]

See main article for Charlotte Ritchie.

Rachel Fabri[link]

Rachel Fabri (born 12 September 1985 in Malta) - Raised in Malta, she trained at the Masquerade Theatre Arts School. She also trained privately under the tuiton of soprano Gillian Zammit. She later received a masters degree in musical theatre at the Guildford School of Acting.^[22] She is an actor as well as a singer singing all kinds of different styles. Rachel is the newest member of the group, having joined the All Angels in July 2010. Rachel is a Psychology graduate from the University of Malta. Rachel's roles have included performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival ^[23] as the lead role in 'Persephone', the London Palladium in 'Me and My Girl' and Abdel Akle in the Lee Tamahori film 'The Devil's Double'^[24]

Laura Wright[link]

Laura Wright, (born 17 June 1990)^[25] was a member of All Angels and left the group in 2010.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2006: All Angels
• 2007: All Angels (Revised) - Digital release
• 2007: Into Paradise
• 2009: Fly Away
• 2010: "Starlight" (EP Digital Release 22 November)

Singles[link]

• 2006: Songbird
• 2006: Angels
• 2007: Nothing Compares 2 U

Featured[link]

• 2007: The Number One Classical Album 2008 - "Sancte Deus (Nimrod)
• 2008: Tenor at the Movies - "Vois Sur Ton Chemin" from Les Choristes with Jonathan Ansell
• 2008: A New World - "Anytime Anywhere" with Will Martin

References[link]

External links[link]

• All Angels official on Myspace
• Daisy Chute on Myspace
• Rachel Fabri on Myspace
• All Angels at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview 2007 on ilikemusic.com
• All Angels on classicalx.com
• All Angels interview on classicalx.com