Autour de Nina , a new album paying homage to the legacy of the late Nina Simone opens with a haunting “Baltimore,” covered by British soul songstress Lianne La Havas .
In the behind-the-scenes clip above, Lianne explain why she chose the song as her contribution:
“I heard her version, which was the reggae version and I had never heard her do and reggae before. And it just had this groove, it was so poetic. It was super classy. And I just believed her, I believed every lyric.”
Written by Randy Newman for his 1977 LP Little Criminals , “Baltimore” was covered by Nina for her 1978 album of the same name.
Arranged by Clément Ducol , the 10-track Autour de Nina also features painfully beautiful renditions of “Feeling Good” by French soul singer-songwriter Ben L’Oncle Soul , “Black Is The Color (Of My True Love’s Hair)” by American jazz vocalist Gregory Porter , and “Plain Gold Ring” by South Korean jazz singer Youn Sun Nah .
Following the album’s France release on November 10, 2014 via Universal Music France/Verve, a concert coincided with the reopening of Paris’ Studio 104.
Listen to the event at franceinter.fr . For more information on Autour de Nina go to autourdenina.com.
Also take a listen to Lianne’s “Baltimore” cover in full below.
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