An announcement interrupted the hum and buzz of audience conversation: “At this time, ladies and gentlemen, the Village Gate takes the greatest pleasure in presenting the amazing Miss Nina Simone.” Fresh on the heels of cutting short a run at the Round Table in New York City because of noisy audiences, Simone stepped out onto the raised stage and her presence set the tone. She was taking control in her personal and professional life. The whistles and applause on the recording of the concert bleed into a song to a love, “Just in Time.” She sang, “Just in time you found me just in time. / Before you came my time was running low.” She was expressing gratitude to a romantic partner who had rescued her from loneliness.
She could just as well have been thanking the Village Gate for being a dependable space for her artmaking during the past three years. Leading up to the 1962 release of Nina at the Village Gate, she had maintained a grueling schedule of touring and recording. She often found herself rushing from city to city, chasing financial freedom, as her artistic goal of being a classical musician remained out of reach.
She released seven albums in four years, beginning with her debut, Little Girl Blue, in 1959. Fans adored her, but their praise was no substitute for the closeness of intimates. Her third live recording, Nina at the Village Gate, offers both a portal to the event and a window into how she constructed her musical and political worlds.
Simone…commanded a room, captivating audiences with unexpected combinations of genres and her ability to surrender herself completely to the music. Entering the club to hear Simone perform between March 30 and April 27, 1961, felt different than in 1959. In the intervening years, she had performed at the Town Hall and recorded a hit record, At Newport, that included the single “Trouble in Mind”/“Cotton Eyed Joe” that rose through the Hot 100 R & B singles chart to number 11 and 92, respectively.
She had also graced the pages of Ebony magazine; and had appeared on Hugh Hefner’s variety show, Playboy’s Penthouse; the Today show; and The Ed Sullivan Show. She was a star whose energy radiated through the four hundred or so audience members who each night sat huddled around tables waiting, listening, and watching. Simone not only demanded attention; she commanded a room, captivating audiences with unexpected combinations of genres and her ability to surrender herself completely to the music.
Her full-body performance expressed her intentions rather than her audience’s expectations. In the recording from those nights, her set moved from the romantic sound of the Midtown Manhattan Broadway stage, to foreboding Appalachian-influenced blue notes, to an unfurling sonic breakdown at a Southern church revival meeting. Within the Gate she built for herself a place that could gently hold her.
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