  nina simone  (born eunice kathleen waymon; february 21, 1933&nbsp;â april 21, 2003) was an american singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. she worked in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, r&b, gospel, and pop. the sixth child of a preacher's family in north carolina, simone aspired to be a concert pianist. her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious curtis institute of music in philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. simone was later told by someone working at curtis that she was rejected because she was black.encyclopedia of jazz musicians. jazz.com; retrieved october 28, 2013. so as to fund her continuing musical education and become a classical pianist, she began playing in a small club in philadelphia where she was also required to sing. she was approached for a recording by bethlehem records, and her rendering of "i loves you, porgy" was a hit in the united states in 1958. over the length of her career simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958, when she made her debut with little girl blue, and 1974. her musical style arose from a fusion of gospel and pop songs with classical music, in particular with influences from her first inspiration, johann sebastian bach, and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in her characteristic contralto. she injected as much of her classical background into her music as possible to give it more depth and quality, as she felt that pop music was inferi
1933_births 2003_deaths African-American_Christians African-American_activists African-American_female_singer-songwriters African-American_female_singers African-Americans\'_civil_rights_activists American_contraltos American_expatriates_in_France American_expatriates_in_Liberia American_expatriates_in_Switzerland American_expatriates_in_the_Netherlands American_jazz_pianists American_jazz_singers American_rhythm_and_blues_singer-songwriters American_soul_musicians American_tax_resisters American_women_activists Cancer_deaths_in_France Charly_Records_artists Deaths_from_breast_cancer Female_jazz_musicians Jazz_songwriters Juilliard_School_alumni Musicians_from_North_Carolina People_from_Polk_County,_North_Carolina People_from_Provence-Alpes-CA'te_d\'Azur People_with_bipolar_disorder Soul-jazz_musicians Torch_singers