She
was an icon of the black power and feminist movements, but Nina Simone had also
married a white husband and appeared on Playboy
After Dark. Few artists better
represented the complexity and tempestuousness of the 1960s better than her. Classically
trained but adopted by the jazz world, she eventually found crossover
popularity with soul audiences. To use Ellington’s words, she was truly beyond
category. Simone’s life, music, and cultural significance are surveyed in Jeff
L. Lieberman’s independent documentary The
Amazing Nina (trailer
here),
which opens this Friday in New York.
Yes,
Liz Garbus’s high profile Netflix documentary recently started streaming, but
there is always room for a new film on an artist of her stature. Ironically,
her fiercer fans might just appreciate Lieberman’s film more than the earlier
release, even though Garbus’s film had the backing of Simone’s family, whereas
Lieberman’s did not. What Happened, Miss Simone? boasts a number of revelations regarding Simone’s mental health
problems and her alleged emotional abuse of her daughter. It is eye-opening
stuff, but maybe not the way her fans want to remember her.
In
contrast, Amazing is a more balanced
chronicle in nearly every sense. There is a good deal of material on her early
life that will be mostly new to viewers of the earlier doc, especially her
first marriage to the white hipster Don Ross, who turned out to be a lazy ne’er
do well. We also hear how her defiant spirit manifested itself during her early
childhood years. Clearly, Lieberman did his research, delving deeper into the
circumstances surrounding her unsuccessful audition for the Curtis Institute of
Music.
While
daughter Lisa Simone threw her chips in with Garbus and Netflix, Lieberman’s
production was not without its own Simone/Waymon family support. Most notably,
Simone’s brother, band member, and former manager Sam Waymon is an enthusiastic
participant, guiding viewers through the highs and lows of Simone’s life. He is
a lively and engaging screen presence, who seems to be quite forthright in his
reminiscences.
Simone’s
longtime guitarist-musical director Al Schackman again offers his memories of
the pianist-vocalist, which are always welcome. However, Amazing is further enriched and diversified by interview segments
with Chinese Canadian guitarist Henry Young, whose stint in Simone’s band was
relatively short but undeniably eventful. He might just deserve his own doc
treatment.
Wisely,
Lieberman never loses sight of the music, because for Nina Simone fans that is
really what it is all about. If you think you knew her from previous
documentaries or the infamous Montreux performance, it turns out there is even
more to her story. It is richer and considerably more complicated. Briskly
paced but appropriately sensitive when addressing delicate subjects, The Amazing Nina Simone should please
the fans who were left somewhat cold by the previous film. In fact, the two
documentaries supplement each other quite nicely. Recommended for all fans of
jazz-soul-folk crossover music, The
Amazing Nina Simone opens this Friday (10/16) in New York, at the AMC
Empire.
