A larger-than-life bronze statue of the legendary jazz singer, the High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone (1933-2003), stands in a park bearing her name in her hometown, Tryon, NC. She sits majestically on a stool, playing the piano, and performing.
Simone was born Eunice Waymon in Tryon, NC. She was a musically gifted child, teaching herself to play the piano when she was three. Her childhood aspiration was to become a classical pianist but ended up playing and singing her own style- a combination of classic, jazz, gospel, blues, pop, and folk. She created 40 original albums and was a talented songwriter and a civil rights activist.
Crys Armbrust established the Nina Simone Memorial Project to celebrate Simone’s legacy, where it all started, in her hometown. The sculptor, Zenos Frudakis, got the commission to create Simone’s statue with the help of her daughter, a musician and Broadway actress, Lisa Simone Kelly, who posed for the sculpture. It was dedicated on Simone’s birthday, February 21st, 2010, seven years after she passed away.
The project also installed a marker at her childhood house, 30 East Livingston Street, and plans to restore it.
Tryon is an artsy town, home to several galleries, the Tryon History Museum, art centers, and annual festivals.
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