Ethel Waters 1896

Cantante e attrice statunitense(Chester, Pennsylvania, 31.10.1896 – Los Angeles, California, 1.9.1977). Esordisce ancora bambina con il nome di <<Baby Star>>, e debutta nel vaudeville come <<Sweet Mama Stringbean>>. Canta al Lincoln Theatre di New York (1917) e parte in tournée con i Black Swan Troubadours di Fletcher Henderson (1921-22), incide poi qualche disco per la Black Swan, La Paramount e la Columbia.

Viene in Europa (1930) e registra con Duke Ellington (1932). A New York sul finire degli anni ’20, nonostante la sua notorietà, trova lavoro solo in una bettola, l’Edmond Cellar. La sua consacrazione avverrà, invece, al Cotton Club, con Stormy Weather (1933).

A Broadway, Irving Berlin le affida un ruolo in As Thousands Cheer (1933), quindi in At Home Abroad (1935-36). Ormai una star, canta con i Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, Dick Powell, Guy Lombardo, i Mills Brothers, la Casa Loma Orchestra; recita nei film Cabin In The Sky, Tales Of Manhattan, Pinky; Mamba’s Daughter (1939) e A Member Of The Wedding (1952) a teatro. Compare in television al fianco di Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Jo Jones. Nel 1971 canta per Richard Nixon alla Casa Bianca. Fu, sul finire della vita, una vera militante religiosa.

Fra le molte cantanti che alla Water si sono ispirate: Mildred Bailey, Lee Wiley, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald e persino Billie Holiday. La Waters ha dato vita a canzoni come Dinah, Am I Blue, Stormy Weather. È autrice di un’autobiografia: His Eye Is On The Sparrow (1951).

Fedele alla tradizione del vaudeville, Ethel Waters interpreta ritornelli e strofe al tempo stesso, lasciando poco spazio all’improvvisazione. Del suo successo è responsabile l’efficace combinazione fra dizione perfetta, registro esteso e ricco di sfumature e una certa dose di ironia. Il senso della teatralità, derivatole direttamente dalle sue attitudini di attrice, ha fatto il resto.
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[C. B.]

American singer and actress (Chester, Pennsylvania, 31.10.1896 - Los Angeles, California, 1.9.1977). She still made her debut as a child with the name of << Baby Star >>, and made her debut in vaudeville as << Sweet Mama Stringbean >>. He sings at the Lincoln Theater in New York (1917) and goes on tour with Fletcher Henderson's Black Swan Troubadours (1921-22), then makes a few records for Black Swan, Paramount, and Columbia.

She comes to Europe (1930) and records with Duke Ellington (1932). In New York in the late 1920s, despite his notoriety, he found work only in a tavern, the Edmond Cellar. However, his consecration will take place at the Cotton Club, with Stormy Weather (1933).

On Broadway, Irving Berlin entrusted her with a role in As Thousands Cheer (1933), then in At Home Abroad (1935-36). Now a star, he sings with the Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Bing Crosby, Dick Powell, Guy Lombardo, the Mills Brothers, the Casa Loma Orchestra; stars in Cabin In The Sky, Tales Of Manhattan, Pinky; Mamba's Daughter (1939) and A Member Of The Wedding (1952) at the theater. She appears on television alongside Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Jo Jones. In 1971 he sang for Richard Nixon at the White House. At the end of her life, she was a real religious militant.

Among the many singers inspired by Water: Mildred Bailey, Lee Wiley, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and even Billie Holiday. Waters has given birth to songs like Dinah, Am I Blue, Stormy Weather. She is the author of an autobiography: His Eye Is On The Sparrow (1951).
 
Faithful to the vaudeville tradition, Ethel Waters interprets choruses and verses simultaneously, leaving little room for improvisation. The effective combination of perfect diction, extensive and nuanced register, and a specific dose of irony is responsible for its success. The sense of theatricality derived directly from her aptitudes as an actress did the rest.
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[C. B.]