A dozen years have passed since Ledisi experienced a career defining moment by singing the anchor verse of the Nina Simone classic “Four Women” during the inaugural televised presentation of the “Black Girls Rock” awards program on BET.
She shared the stage with Kelly Price, Marsha Ambrosius, and Jill Scott for the haunting ballad that expresses the frustrations of objectification and discrimination faced by Black women in the forms of sexism, racism, and colorism.
The themes within the song ring as true today as when Simone released it in 1966, and when Ledisi and company performed it in 2010.
Although a Grammy-nominated artist with a handful of albums under her belt, soul singer Ledisi’s name was the least familiar among the quartet. That changed when her powerhouse vocals closed out the song. Those 30 or so seconds were a springboard for a broader audience and made her a must-have feature for award show tributes, including a performance of “Ne Me Quitte Pas” in honor of Simone at this year’s Grammy Awards.
Ledisi has also become specifically known for her stunning interpretations of songs from Simone’s catalogue.
When Ledisi made her debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 2019, she opened the show with that same verse from “Black Girls Rock”– and gave a taste of Nina Simone for the performance, which was billed as “An Evening with Ledisi.”
The show in St. Louis was a few months ahead of her highly anticipated performance at Royal Albert Hall in London, where she was the featured soloist for conductor Jules Buckley and the Metropole Orkest, as they paid homage to Simone.
Ledisi returns to Powell Hall next Friday (June 3) to give St. Louis a full roster of her musical tribute to Simone. Based on the title of the concert, fans can expect a live performance of her critically acclaimed 2021 album “Ledisi Sings Nina.” She’ll be accompanied by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, who will be conducted by Kevin McBeth.
Nina Simone’s music has been good to the now Grammy winner – and long before (and long after) she introduced herself by way of the exclamation point that was her “Black Girls Rock” performance. What fans didn’t know until recently was that the music of Nina Simone saved her life.
As she has toured “Ledisi Sings Nina,” she has repeatedly shared a rock bottom experience that Nina Simone is responsible for her crawling her way back from. Nearly 20 years ago, Ledisi was a struggling singer gaining little traction in her career despite her immense talent. She sat on her porch in Oakland, California with a mailbox full of bills and an empty bank account. She had decided to end her life.
But a distinct raspy vibrato voice ministered to her through the speakers of her radio.
“I just wanted to go. And ‘Trouble in Mind’ started to play, this loud piano … just bam! And I went, ‘Who is that?” Ledisi told DownBeat Magazine. “I walked into the living room and sat there and made myself listen, and it was Nina singing all the words that described my mood. She became a mood for me … and she just kept interrupting my life.”
Those interruptions doubled as launching pads. Ledisi – also an accomplished actor – used Simone as a source for her one-woman stage show, “The Legend of Little Girl Blue.” Simone’s music gave Ledisi the content for her first televised special, “Ledisi Live: A Tribute to Nina Simone” which aired on PBS – and for her 10th studio album (Ledisi Sings Nina).
“I wanted people to see and hear the joy of a Black woman. My joy for her … because that’s what she brought me in my darkness… Just got me right on out.” Ledisi told the Los Angeles Times as she explained her process for curating her Simone covers. “Her joy and her audacity to go, ‘Love me. I’m a Black woman. Love me like this. Give me what I ask for, what I deserve.’”
It’s the same energy she hopes to elicit among the audience whenever she performs – whether it’s Simone’s music or Ledisi’s own impressive catalogue of original material that has earned her 13 Grammy nominations, which includes a “Best Traditional R&B Album” win for Anything For You.
“I hope they leave inspired in their own lives and knowing that they are not alone in any way that they feel,” Ledisi told The St. Louis American in 2019. “And that they feel better about themselves. That is how we are supposed to respond to music – to reflect and know that we are not alone in how we feel.”
Ledisi Sings Nina featuring the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will play Powell Hall (718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis MO 63103) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 3. For more information, call (314) 534-1700 or visit www.slso.org.
