Nina Simone - At the Village Gate [Clear Spain Import]

Nina Simone at her most commanding fills At the Village Gate, a live set from the Greenwich Village club, here as a limited edition on clear 180-gram vinyl with bonus tracks.

Recorded in 1961 and released the following year, the album caught Simone early in her career, already blending jazz, folk, gospel and classical technique in ways no one else could. Backed by guitarist Al Schackman, bassist Chris White and drummer Bobby Hamilton, she plays and sings with a focus that makes a small room feel enormous.

Just in Time opens with buoyant piano runs and playful phrasing, before House of the Rising Sun turns the folk standard into something tense and haunting. Brown Baby is a tender, hopeful lullaby, sung with a warmth that is impossible to shake.

An extended instrumental Bye Bye Blackbird puts her conservatory-trained piano front and centre, moving from elegant restraint to fierce, rolling improvisation. Throughout, the audience is hushed and attentive, and you can hear Simone holding the room in the palm of her hand.

The bonus tracks add a little extra to the original running order, making this a generous listen for anyone drawn to her early years, and the clear vinyl gives a striking look to one of her finest live recordings.