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In any setting, though, her voice - unmistakably smoky, husky, and piercing in its quest for the emotional truth - was the star. Her small but significant trove of recordings for Bethlehem - just this album and three more tracks - were intimate: either solo piano or in a trio with Jimmy Bond on bass and Albert "Tootie" Heath on drums. She demanded creative control from the start, a testament to her clear sense of self from the very beginning. She also imbued these sophisticated Great American Songbook works with the earthiness and intensity of the blues, and the fervor of gospel. The singer-pianist, born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in North Carolina, spellbound audiences by bringing classical influences to jazz and popular standards. If the repertoire on Little Girl Blue was, for the most part, reflective of the typical jazz songbook of the day, Simone's treatment of it was anything but standard. Although Simone was relatively new to performing and not yet 25 years old, she took to the studio with command, intensity and passion. Though it didn't see release until February 1959, Little Girl Blue - so named for the Rodgers and Hart standard introduced in their Broadway musical Jumbo - was actually recorded in one session near the end of 1957.
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The remastered stereo album will arrive on CD, LP, and digital services on August 13. BMG is continuing to celebrate the legacy of late trailblazer Nina Simone with an upcoming reissue of her 1959 debut album for Bethlehem Records, Little Girl Blue.