 Simone 's bearing and stage presence earned her the title " High <unk> of Soul " . She was a piano player , singer and performer , " separately , and simultaneously . " As a composer and <unk> , Simone moved from gospel to blues , jazz , and folk , and to numbers with European classical styling . Besides using Bach @-@ style counterpoint , she called upon the particular virtuosity of the 19th @-@ century Romantic piano repertoire — Chopin , Liszt , <unk> , and others . <unk> , she incorporated monologues and dialogues with the audience into the program , and often used silence as a musical element . She compared it to " mass hypnosis . I use it all the time . " Throughout most of her life and recording career she was accompanied by <unk> <unk> Fleming and guitarist and musical director Al <unk> . She 's known to have lived 10 years with Emmanuel <unk> from France 
