Nina Simone and Gregg Allman

 What's the connection you ask?

The cover of Nina's 'Little Girl Blue' was taken in Manhattan's Central Park in 1959, near Central Park South (59th Street).

That exact spot brings back a very cool memory.  So let’s take a trip down memory lane to 1974.  My husband Jerry and I along with Denise "The Grease" and her then boyfriend "Little Benny", went to Carnegie Hall to see Gregg Allman.

Inside Carnegie Hall waiting for the show to start the people next to us lit a joint and passed it to us, "The Grease" sparked one up, and we passed it to them, and we started talking.  Jerry had a bottle Jack Daniel’s he smuggled in, and we shared it all round.  They were very nice people and told us there was going to an after party in Central Park at midnight at the benches by the duck pond that faces the bridge.  This was a popular spot I knew well, and five-minute or so walk from Carnegie Hall on West 57th Street. 



I should point out, unlike today, Central Park in 1974 reflected the severe economic and fiscal crises of New York City.  It was unkempt, graffiti was everywhere, heroin was openly sold, it became even more dangerous after dark and the NYPD didn’t bother patrolling it.



After Gregg’s show we went to nearby bar, to kill time before the after party.  When arrived at the party it was underway, there were cans of beer in coolers, a constant stream of joints being passed around, someone even brought a charcoal grill and was cooking hotdogs and hamburgers.  The festivities went on till around 3AM.  These were the very last days of "Hippie New York".  Every time I see Nina Simone’s 'Little Girl Blue' I think back to that night.



'Little Girl Blue' (subtitled Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club) is Nina's 1959 debut album.  Recorded in late 1957 for the Bethlehem Records label, the album beautifully showcases her distinctive blend of classical piano technique, jazz improvisation, and soulful vocal phrasing.  It includes her first major chart hit, "I Loves You, Porgy", along with the timeless classic "My Baby Just Cares For Me".

The freeload is a 24bit/174.4kHz SACD rip of the Analogue Productions reissue from 2015

Little did we know that night at Carnegie Hall, the show was recorded, and parts of it would be released as 'The Gregg Allman Tour' later in 1974.

For this tour, Gregg Allman deviated from the usual Allman Brothers Band lineup.  He was accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra, along with the band Cowboy, a Capricorn label-mate who had been a personal favorite of his late brother, Duane Allman.

Originally released as a double LP, the album blends Southern rock, Blues, R&B, honky-tonk, and Gospel music.

The freeload is a sweet sounding, remastered limited edition SHM-CD, that was reissued for the Japanese domestic market (a "JDM" to music collectors) in 2008.

If Nina and Gregg made an album together, I'll bet it would have been a pretty cool Jazzy Bluesy affair.

For the freeload name a male and female artist living or deceased, who you think should or should have collaborated on an album.