An exhilarating tribute to Nina Simone commanded by Jules Buckley, with divine singing from Ledisi and Lisa Fischer

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Nina Simone – dubbed the ‘High Priestess of Soul’ – remains an idol for both her musical virtuosity and unapologetic Blackness. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in 1933, Simone was denied the chance to be the first Black classical pianist to be accepted into Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music in 1950. Increasingly aware of the limitations imposed by her race, Simone forged her own path – seamlessly blending her classical background with jazz, soul, pop, and gospel in one of the most enduring repertoires of the 20th century. Her songs could oscillate from blistering attacks on racism and segregation, to personal and melancholic reflections on love and relationships. Disgusted by the racial injustice inflicted against the African-American community, she would become a defining voice of the Civil Rights Movement.

Honouring her life and music at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall were the Metropole Orkest under Jules Buckley, joined by leading soul singers Ledisi and Lisa Fischer. Performing backing vocals for the evening were LaSharVu – the coming-together of seasoned vocalists LaDonna Harley-Peters, Sharlene Hector, and Vula Malinga. The event was titled ‘Mississippi Goddam’ – after the protest song penned by Simone in response to the murder of Mississippi civil rights activist Medgar Evers, and the murder of four African-American children in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.

Surveying a healthy mix of well-known songs and more obscure material, Buckley commanded the night’s proceedings with gumption. He humbly honoured the various arrangers whose work came to life with dazzling colour and richness from the orchestra. Jeremy Levy’s arrangement of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ – string-laden with LaSharVu’s skillful harmonies – and Buckley’s own rendering of the haunting slave ballad ‘Dambala’ were standouts. Perhaps the only disappointment was the lack of narrative and context between performances, although jazz historian Alyn Shipton’s commentary in the event programme proved fascinating reading.

Making their Proms debuts, Ledisi and Fischer both underscored their formidable skills as vocalists and interpreters. Fischer, an esteemed backing vocalist featured in the Oscar-winning film 20 Feet From Stardom, can belt into the stratosphere if she so desires. Here, she mined her instrument’s basement for its dark, sumptuous tones with swooping roulades too. Entering the stage after the orchestra’s opening rendition of ‘African Mailman’/’Sinnerman’, Fischer delivered a chilling performance of ‘Plain Gold Ring’ – drawing out with such exactness the pain of unrequited love conveyed in the lyric. Her performance of ‘Dido’s Lament’ – an aria by Henry Purcell and a nod to Simone’s love of classical music – saw her switch to operatic cadence in her equally impressive upper register.

Ledisi has a fine track-record of delivering tributes, whether to the likes of Natalie Cole, Anita Baker, or, most impressively, Aretha Franklin. Contrasted against Fischer’s supple and twisting vocalisations, Ledisi sang with flat-footed, roof-raising attack. She tore through the brilliant ‘I Put a Spell On You’ – written and first recorded by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins but popularised by Simone. Striking a balance between the seductive and sinister, Ledisi pushed her elastic range (impeccably controlled) at the song’s climax, taking the song to new heights in a more frenzied interpretation. ‘I’m Going Back Home’ – which Shipton notes ‘catches the rhythmic vitality of the black church‘ – brought the house down at the close of the first act. She added lively yelps and squalls to enliven the frustration of ‘Be My Husband’, performed alongside Fischer and LaSharVu with a militaristic beat and claps from the orchestra.

The legacy of slavery and the oppressive reality of racism underpins some of Simone’s most iconic material and was the focus of the second act. Fischer, Ledisi, Malinga and Hector each took a verse of the stirring ‘Four Women’ – a piece which examines the condition of the African-American woman from four narrative perspectives. It culminated in Ledisi’s piercing scream of ‘my name is Peaches‘ as she inhabited the persona of a woman ‘awfully bitter these days / Because [her] parents were slaves‘. She also delivered both the furious ‘Mississippi Goddam’ and the wistful ‘I Wish I Knew How (It Would Feel to Be Free’). Fischer rendered ‘Dambala’, written by the Bahamian musician Exuma, and recorded on Simone’s 1974 album It Is Finished, with sensitive and devastating articulation.

The encore performance of ‘Feeling Good’ – matching that powerful orchestra with Ledisi and Fischer’s combined vocals – was irresistible.

Listen to the recording here!

(Photography credit: Mark Allan, BBC)