a nonprofit presenter of jazz artistic and education programs
Kim Nalley
San Francisco’s Kim Nalley has distinguished herself internationally with a beguiling combination of sass, soul and smarts. She’s just about the only vocalist around with the dramatic presence, stylistic breadth and technical skill (having a 3 ½ octave vocal range) to cover Nina Simone’s entire catalog. Nalley honed her Simone tribute during the years she owned and ran the North Beach club Jazz at Pearl’s. After some sage advice from tenor sax great Houston Person, Nalley turned the recordings from those performances into her riveting album, She Put A Spell on Me, which features much of the material she’ll be exploring on this date.
"Kim Nalley...has pipes to burn and works the stage
like she means it."
—San Francisco Chronicle
Born Eunice Kathleen Wayone, Nina Simone created her stage name while performing at a bar in Atlantic City, New Jersey: niña, meaning little girl in Spanish, and Simone in honor of the French actress Simone Signoret.