Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue

Last updated
Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue
Residency by Ledisi
LedisiLegendofLittleGirlBlue.jpg
Location Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Venue Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Associated album Ledisi Sings Nina
Start dateDecember 13, 2019 (2019-12-13)
End dateDecember 29, 2019 (2019-12-29)
No. of shows19

Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue was the first concert residency by American singer Ledisi. It was held for three consecutive nights in December 2019. The residency was held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California. Ledisi performed a set list consisting of her songs as well as songs written or performed by Nina Simone, backed by her own band to an audience of 500. The concept of the shows revolves around impact Ledisi's mother Nyra Young and American singer Nina Simone had on Ledisi's life and career. The show also featured a tribute to other influential figures, including Philandro Castile, Marilyn Monroe, Julia Roberts, and Michael Jackson.

Contents

Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue received mixed responses from music critics who praised Ledisi's vocals but also criticized the show for its "lack of narrative". A concert special, Ledisi Live: A Tribute to Nina Simone, aired on PBS on November 28, 2020, featuring the performance recorded in 2019. The show sold out nineteen performances. The success of Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue has led Wallis Annenberg Center to ask Ledisi to return for another future production and in March 2024, the venue became the opening date of her The Good Life Tour .

Background

The concerts were held in Beverly Hills' Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to a sold-out audience. Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts looking North-West 2015.jpg
The concerts were held in Beverly Hills' Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts to a sold-out audience.

On August 15, 2019, Ledisi's announced that she would be performing a residency show at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California from December 13 to December 22, 2019. [1] Tickets for the shows were available on August 15 on The Wallis. [2] [3] When the tickets went on sale to the general public on August 15, 2019, for the residency's first week, the dates sold out. [4] As a result, eight additional performances were added to the residency due to the original dates being sold out months in advance. [4] The residency eventually extended to December 29 and played to nineteen sold-out shows. [5] [6]

In an online interview with BroadwayWorld , Ledisi spoke in depth about the upcoming shows and impact of Nina Simone stating "Nina Simone's legacy lifted me and reminded me to be proud of my skin and embrace the walk I was given. Her music lets me know I am not alone in my journey." [4] In a separate interview, she further stated "The way she expressed the words like a conversation is a master class in storytelling. Her phrasing cuts through even when it's soft and the notes were an afterthought. The feeling always won me." [7] The Wallis' Artistic Director Paul Crewes stated he "appreciated the opportunity to work with Ledisi, who brings her exceptional artistry to our stage." [4]

Development

I met Billy Porter while I was an understudy on Broadway for Caroline, or Change and workshopping The Color Purple . Billy and I became friends while singing with the Broadway Inspirational Voices. I have always been a fan of how he blended different genres of music in his shows. So, together we bonded over music. He was directing Once on This Island in Los Angeles and asked me to play Asaka. That is where I met producer Suzi Dietz. When I decided to do this show in a semi-theatrical way, my first call was asking Billy to be involved, and Suzi showed up right behind him. I am so grateful they are here guiding my team and I through this.

—Ledisi BroadwayWorld interview [7]

Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue was written by Ledisi and Daniel Beaty. It was directed by Gregg Field and produced by Billy Porter and Suzi Dietz. Kim Burse served as the music supervisor and Brandon Waddles as the musical director. The concept of the shows revolves around Ledisi's life and the connections she has with her mother Nyra Dynese Young as well as Nina Simone. Ledisi orchestrated a tribute concert tour to Simone titled Nina and Me Tour in mid-2019 and included some of the same songs that Simone wrote or recorded into the residency show. Ledisi also included her own original songs in the show.

Concert synopsis

The show begins with Ledisi coming onstage dressed as Nina Simone in a high headdress and African robe. Her band plays the lead-in to the blues song "My Baby Just Cares for Me". In character as Simone, Ledisi comments that the band is playing too loudly and that they might as well continue on playing. She eventually performs the song. After performing several of Simone's songs, Ledisi performs Simone's cover version of "Trouble in Mind" while detailing how Simone's version of the song helped Ledisi overcome suicidal depression.

Following a costume change, Ledisi portrays her mother Nyra, exclaiming to the audience "Nina Simone was one of my greatest sheros, making it possible for singers like me to believe our dreams could come true. But my first shero was my mother". She then launches into a story about witnessing her mother's beating.

Ledisi eventually portrays herself in the remainder of the show. She performs her song "Alright" while recalling her mother who inspired her to continue her music career which eventually led to writing the song "Alright" as well as Ledisi jokingly telling the audience how her mother wants "15% of everything".

Critical response

The show received mixed reviews. Stephen Fife of Stage Raw criticized the show and stated that it "lacks a gripping narrative". [8]

Broadcasts and recordings

On November 16, 2020, Ledisi announced the concert special Ledisi Live: A Tribute to Nina Simone via her Facebook. [9] Professional footage from the residency show aired on American television network PBS on November 28, 2020. The concert special was recorded at Myron's Jazz Cabaret in the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada by Ledisi's film company Fig Street Films. [10]

Set list

  1. "My Baby Just Cares for Me"
  2. "Feeling Good"
  3. "Trouble in Mind"
  4. "Be My Husband"
  5. "Little Girl Blue"
  6. "Four Women"
  7. "Alright"
  8. "I Put a Spell on You"

Personnel

Band

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina Simone</span> American singer-songwriter (1933–2003)

Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop. In 2023 Rolling Stone ranked Simone at No. 21 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzi Quatro</span> American rock musician (born 1950)

Susan Kay Quatro is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter and actor. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" (1974) reaching No. 1 in several countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoshana Bean</span> American actress and singer-songwriter (born 1977)

Shoshana E. Bean is a Tony-nominated American singer, songwriter, and stage actress. She has appeared in numerous musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood</span> 1964 song by Nina Simone

"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus for American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, who recorded the first version in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been covered by many artists. Two of the covers were transatlantic hits, the first in 1965 by the Animals, which was a blues rock version; and in 1977 by the disco group Santa Esmeralda, which was a four-on-the-floor rearrangement. A 1986 cover by new wave musician Elvis Costello found success in Britain and Ireland.

<i>Live at Ronnie Scotts</i> (Nina Simone album) 1987 live album by Nina Simone

Live at Ronnie Scott's is an album by American singer-songwriter Nina Simone. It is a live recording of a concert she gave at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in 1984, a London venue where she performed a few times in her later life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Glasper</span> American jazz pianist, record producer, and songwriter

Robert Andre Glasper is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered around jazz. Glasper has won five Grammy Awards from 11 nominations.

<i>Nina Simone in Concert</i> 1964 live album by Nina Simone

Nina Simone in Concert is an album by the jazz singer Nina Simone. It is her first album for the record label Philips, composed of three live recordings made at Carnegie Hall, New York City, in March and April 1964. Simone recorded Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall in 1963 for Colpix.

<i>Little Girl Blue</i> (album) 1959 studio album by Nina Simone

Little Girl Blue: Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club is the debut studio album by Nina Simone. Recorded in late 1957, it was eventually released by Bethlehem Records in February 1959. Due to the length of time the album had taken to be released and the lack of any promotional single either immediately before or alongside the album, Simone would become disillusioned with Bethlehem and sign with Colpix Records in April 1959. She recorded the tracks for her second album - what would become The Amazing Nina Simone - the same month. However, in May Bethlehem finally released a single, "I Loves You, Porgy" and gave Simone her first hit later that year, peaking at number 18 on the pop charts, and number 2 on the R&B charts. Helped by the profile of the single, the album too went on to become a chart success.

"Little Girl Blue" is a popular song with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, published in 1935. The song was introduced by Gloria Grafton in the Broadway musical Jumbo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Goddam</span> 1964 song written and performed by Nina Simone

"Mississippi Goddam" is a song written and performed by American singer and pianist Nina Simone, who later announced the anthem to be her "first civil rights song". The song was released on her album Nina Simone in Concert in 1964, which was based on recordings of three concerts she gave at Carnegie Hall earlier that year. The album was her first release for the Dutch label Philips Records and is indicative of the more political turn her recorded music took during this period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ledisi</span> American singer/songwriter, author and actress (born 1972)

Ledisi Anibade Young, better known simply as Ledisi, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, author, and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba.

"Four Women" is a song written by jazz singer, composer, pianist and arranger Nina Simone, released on the 1966 album Wild Is the Wind. It tells the story of four African American women. Each of the four characters represents an African-American stereotype in society. Thulani Davis of The Village Voice called the song "an instantly accessible analysis of the damning legacy of slavery, that made iconographic the real women we knew and would become."

<i>Pieces of Me</i> (Ledisi album) 2011 studio album by Ledisi

Pieces of Me is the fifth studio album by American R&B recording artist Ledisi. It was released by Verve Forecast Records on June 14, 2011 in the United States. Released to critical and commercial success, the album debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 album chart and at number two on R&B Albums chart. Her first top-ten entry on the former chart, it is Ledisi's highest-charting album to date as of 2021. The album spawned three singles that were released to moderate success on the Billboard charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ledisi discography</span>

American singer-songwriter Ledisi has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, one soundtrack album, one extended play, and thirty-eight singles, including three as a featured artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan James</span> American singer, songwriter, and actress (born 1981)

Morgan James is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including Motown: The Musical, Godspell, and The Addams Family.

<i>Hit List</i> (musical) 2013 American musical

Hit List is an American musical with music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Drew Gasparini, Joe Iconis, Andrew McMahon, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, and Lucie Silvas and a book by Julia Brownell, based on the original fictitious musical from the second season of the NBC television series Smash.

<i>Let Love Rule</i> (Ledisi album) 2017 studio album by Ledisi

Let Love Rule is the eighth studio album by American musician Ledisi. It was released in September 2017 under Verve Records. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 60th Grammy Awards in January 2018.

<i>Ledisi Sings Nina</i> 2021 studio album by Ledisi

Ledisi Sings Nina is the tenth studio album by American singer Ledisi. The album was released on July 23, 2021, by her record label Listen Back Entertainment and distributed by BMG Rights Management. The album was recorded in collaboration with the Metropole Orkest. Ledisi Sings Nina is a tribute album to American singer-songwriter and civil rights activist Nina Simone. The album was nominated for Outstanding Jazz Vocal Album at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

<i>Good Life</i> (Ledisi album) 2024 studio album by Ledisi

Good Life is the eleventh studio album by American singer and songwriter Ledisi. It was released on March 15, 2024, by Listen Back Entertainment, and distributed by BMG Rights Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina and Me Tour</span> 2019 concert tour by Ledisi

The Nina and Me Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer Ledisi. After the release of Ledisi's tenth album Ledisi Sings Nina (2021), the tour was revived as Ledisi Sings Nina Tour in July 2021. The Ledisi Sings Nina Tour also coincided with The Wild Card Tour (2021).

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.