Hidden Heartache is 100 minutes of piano music from the last 100 years in the context of social inequality and unequal power relations. The Swiss pianist Simone Keller is both courageous and fearless with an eye for the essentials and for the big issues of the day. The album is a self portrait and an homage, with Keller asking herself which piano music of the last 100 years deserves greater attention. � It soon becomes obvious that there are thousands of hours of unheard, unplayed works by underrepresented composers. The selection I ultimately made is very personal, and closely connected to my own pianistic activities. But it was also very important to me that Hidden Heartache should not merely gather together historical figures, but also present compositions of today that reveal varied perspectives on societal and power inequalities while at the same time paying homage to the music of Julius Eastman and Julia Amanda Perry. These new works by the Swiss composers Jessie Cox and Cristina Janett, and the Americans Julie Herndon and Jessie Marino, were created in direct collaboration with me �, writes Simone Keller.

Recorded in 1985 after a break from recording and time spent living in Barbados and Liberia, Nina's Back features a rejuvenated Nina Simone reaching out to a wider musical audience. Featuring a number of memorable original Simone compositions, the band includes horns and backup singers for a recording that's unique in Nina's catalog. Previously released originally on LP and cassette 1985 and CD in 1988 - all with older album covers.

Throughout her career, Nina's music has inspired audiences of all ages, races, and nationalities. Created with the newest generation of Nina Simone fans in mind, Great Women of Song features the best of the best. Miss Simone's most loved and notable hits assembled in one package. From the evergreen track "Feeling Good," to the mysteriously romantic remake of "I Put a Spell on You" and many more, the album is the gift that will keep on giving.

The Newport Jazz Festival had always brought the best out of Nina Simone. On July 2, 1966 the audience was treated to the full range of her artistry - from the opener, a breathtaking version of "You've Got To Learn" to a swinging take on "Mississippi Goddam." After the standing ovation, her fans were rewarded with the show-stopping encore, "Music For Lovers." This previously unreleased recording makes it clear why hearing Nina Simone in concert was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. "Mississippi Goddam" staked out Nina Simone's support of the Civil Rights movement when this album debuted in 1964, helping make it probably the most personal album that Simone issued during her stay on Philips during the decade. Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve's Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. In high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.

Classical Music