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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Nina Simone - Mood Indigo

"Mood Indigo" (1930) is a jazz composition and song, with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard with lyrics by Irving Mills.

The main theme was provided by Bigard, who learned it in New Orleans, Louisiana from his clarinet teacher Lorenzo Tio, who called it a "Mexican Blues". Ellington's distinctive arrangement was first recorded on 17 October 1930.

"Mood Indigo" is performed both as an instrumental and as a vocal. It has been recorded by a countless number of artists, ranging from Charles Mingus to Ella Fitzgerald, Nat "King" Cole, Frank Sinatra, Louie Armstrong.

"Mood Indigo" is featured in the films The Untouchables (1987) and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). It is also the closing music for the film The Cotton Club (1984).

Nina Simone (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music.

Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, soul, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.
Over her career, Simone recorded over 40 albums, mostly between 1958 — when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue — and 1974.

After twenty years of performing, she became involved in the civil rights movement and the direction of her life shifted once more. Simone's music was highly influential in the fight black people faced for equal rights at this time in America, regardless of race.

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