CABARET FROM ITS BEGINNING TO PRESENT

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THE WORLD OF CABARET, JAZZ, ENTERTAINMENT AND DIVAS FROM THE 18th CENTURY TO PRESENT

THE GREATEST SINGERS OF ALL TIME. WHO IS AND WHO IS NOT A TRUE CABARET SINGER IN THE UNITED STATES?

By Maximillien de Lafayette

Photos from L to R: Contemporary American Cabaret and Jazz singers are rivaling the European divas with their creativity and stage presence. #1.Diva Donna Byrne for instance, reflects the image of the perfect Jazz-Cabaret singer. #2. Kendra Shank is another example of a magnificent Jazz singer who blends vocal virtuosity and captivating improvisation.

CABARET! CABARET! That's is the answer, not the question! And the answer was there all the time, since the days and nights of La Goulue, Mistinguet, Josephine Baker, Juliette Greco, Barbara, Jane Avril, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich, Line Renaud, Edith Piaf, Melina Mercouri, Nina Simone, Gabriella Ferri and Eartha Kitt. But the cabaret of today gives us so many different and convergent answers. The cabaret of Susan Eagan's Broadway spotlights, neon flashes and extravaganza is so different from Aristide Bruant's Paris intellectual-vagabond "cabaret-boite". The Cabaret of the cultured Grande Dame Paulette Attie is the reverse reflection of Mistinguet's Moulin Rouge and the Trocadero cabaret gigolo panache. Carol Sloane's cabaret-Jazz performance is the convergent spectrum the 1930's Le Chat Noir and the 1920's Le Nean Cabaret of the hustlers, self-proclaimed philosophers and scary faces and characters of the early Parisian cabarets. However, Sloane's individuality, enormous talent and the depth she brings to the lyrics retrace the authenticity of traditional cabaret acts. In that context, Sloane is as great as the pioneers of the Montmartre Cabaret.

Photo: #1. Jazz great, Carol Slone. #2.Marlene VerPlanck, grande dame of the American Jazz-Concerts.

Marlene VerPlanck's elegant and refined style is so different from the nostalgically explosive cache of Gabriella Ferri and the cabaret noir of the sensational Melina Mercouri. But VerPlanck's blend of rich repertoire, melodious voice and classy presence do not eliminate the intimate and sensual cache of an authentic cabaret act. On the contrary, such blend adds a rich and luxurious flair to the cabaret ambiance. And Cabaret can absorb it. And this establishes the difference between vulgar style and quality style.

STARS OF THE YEARS 1920’s . "Les Grandes Dames de La Chanson".

Yvonne George Gaby Deslys Arletty

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CABARET: THE GREATEST SINGERS OF ALL TIME

WHO ARE THOSE FEMME FATALES?

Yet, all those cabaret divas share many things in common: The Cabaret's drama, the femme fatale persona, the whispers in the dark, the personification of the shadows of the sacred and the damned, the mystique and the risqué on 12 foot by 10 foot human arena called plateau du cabaret: THE STAGE! Despite the diversity and fanatic separation between the kinds and categories of their fans at all levels, the cabaret style of those divas metamorphosed, evolved or rebelled throughout times en vertue of almost similar preferences, tastes, choices and emotional-social-educational-cultural-political states and needs. Those who listen to Gabriella Ferri care less about Barbara Cooke. And those who adore Edith Piaf might not enjoy the captivating performance of Chita Rivera or Cleo Laine. CABARET IS A STATE OF MIND. We go to cabaret to forget or to remember. Asking a famous gigolo and self proclaimed Parisian philosopher: " Do you love cabaret?", the man replied: "You bet your derriere I love cabaret. I go there to forget." "Forget what?", asked the Paris Match reporter. And the man with a satiric smile replied: " I just remember, I have already forgotten what I forgot." He meant by that, the cabaret chanteuses make his head spin in all directions. And there is nothing else to forget or to remember except this "Femme Fatale" on stage and the French bottle of Muscadet on the table! Yes, cabaret is pure magic and the cabaret chanteuse is a poisonous elixir! And we love it! There are more than 350,000 cabaret singers in the world belonging to 13 different kinds of cabaret, ranging from the grotesque to the sublime, and from the Mata Hari genre to the Piaf's style. But who are those femme fatales? Those divas of world cabaret? Don't go far away, mon cher ami. Some of the best in the business are on this page. Look at them!

Germany: Ute Lemper. United Kingdom: Barb Jungr, Kate Westbrook, Claire Martin. Greece: Marinella. Italy: Gabriella Ferri. Canada: Nicole Martel, Lyne Tremblay. United States: Laurie Krauz, Hilary Kole, Shandra Shank, Donna Byrne, Marlene VerPlanck, Patti Wicks, Carol Sloane, Amanda McBroom, Andrea Marcovicci, Anna Bergman, Cleo Laine, Betty Buckley, Chita Rivera, Eartha Kitt, Barbara Cook, Bernadette Peters, Nancy Kelly, Liza Minelli, Marisa Berenson, Paulette Attie, Rhe De Ville, Debbie de Coudreaux . France: Caroline Nin, Raquel Bitton, Simone Marchand. Middle/Near East: Sabah.

Ute Lemper

SABAH LIZA MINELLI PAULETTE ATTIE ANNA BERGMAN UTE LEMPER BETTY BUCKLEY,

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PORTRAIT OF A CABARET DIVA

The prototype of an authentic cabaret chanteuse.

Photos: Zizi Jeanmaire, singer, ballerina, poetess, philosopher, activist, producer, writer, designer, cinema star, stage sensation, music hall queen. Jeanmaire symbolized the spirit and essence of a perfectly crafted romantic-intellectual-artistic cabaret star. Photo #4 : French dancer and choreographer Roland Petit and his legendary wife, Zizi Jeanmaire. Listen to Jeanmaire: D'aventure En Aventure

The Yanks love music. The Americans love cabaret.

Photo: Jazz diva, Mercedes Hall, one of the best in the business.

The colorful characters and wizards of the nights love Divas. Would we ever see real cabaret if we hit Broadway or venture in cosmopolitan cities in the United States? Affirmative. America has become the world stage for cabaret. The fascinating aspect of this American art and musical platform resides in the variety of styles of the artists, rather than in the rendered repertoire. Back in the 20s, 30s and 40s, France defined the prototype of a cabaret vedette and the persona of a cabaret chanteuse. In the United States, categorizing and indexing chanteuses is a hard task. For, each American star and starlet, the aura of her presence on stage and artistic quality are defined by a personal charisma and powerful artistic performance, rather than by an artistic quality. It would be impossible to establish an analogy between traditional French cabaret artistes such as Mistinguet and the popular American counterparts. The French artiste crafts her art with personal elegance, a dramatic stage presence and intimate dialogue. The contemporary American cabaret artist rebels against the established dogmatic cabaret of the golden era of Paris and Berlin. A tour d'horizon of what is happening on the American musical scene reveals a divergence and convergence of the character, persona and style of a wide variety of chanteuses. Although, they copy each other in a singular and innovative way, their individual cache remains distinct and seal-stamped. greater difficulty arises in defining the persona and cache of an American cabaret chanteuse. Are there established standards and criteria for a "CABARET CHANTEUSE", "CABARET DIVA" or "CABARET ARTISTE" in the United States? Absolutely not! Each chanteuse brings to stage her own world, attitude, feelings, concept and a particular style. This is why there is NO "conform or mono-form cabaret" style in the United States.

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Photos from L to R: #1.Singer-pianist Patti Wicks, la crème de la crème. Astonishing talent. #2. Laurie Krauz's talent is overwhelming.

Each chanteuse is her own cabaret. Some succeeded the moment they faced the audience, while many others blessed with a much more developed and higher talent succumbed miserably, for they failed to either intimately or dramatically create a warm presence and a rapport with the audience which could reach the heart of the listeners and go beyond the wild fantasies and imagination of the public. Daring is another image a cabaret chanteuse should possess. In many instances, "daring" is an ammunition and a great asset. The daring spirit of Mistinguet transformed this almost mediocre singer and dancer into the world's greatest cabaret star, almost overnight! Josephine Baker cleverly took notice of that and reduplicated the success of her rival Mistinguet on a much wider and greater dimension. Therefore, should we ask the cabaret chanteuses in America to be "more daring"? But what a "cabaret's daring attitude" is? This attitude cannot be defined. It is not freely displayed in a department store . It is exclusively found in the intellect and " inner world" of the performer. Broadway is certainly a stimulus for artistic bravery, however, its flashy sets and neon buzzing deprive the cabaret artiste from conveying an ambiance of intimacy usually and exclusively found in the smoky-sensual setting of a cozy cabaret room. European cabarets remain sensually warm. American cabarets metamorphosed into a platform. Quite a difference, indeed. What it would take an American cabaret chanteuse to become sensually warm? Nothing, for the sincerely and fully devoted American cabaret artistes have already succeeded in rivaling the French and the world's most established cabaret artistes. Regardless of the era and style, the old wave and the new one, the preceding and continuing generations of performers, and the contemporary American cabaret singers brought this form of entertainment to a newer, innovative, more animated and certainly more sophisticated level of artistic performance. Recognition and accolades should be given to superb artists such as Cindy Benson, Andrea Marcovicci, Amanda McBroom, Anna Bergman, Mercedes Hall, Laurie Krauz, Debbie de Coudreaux, Anne Kerry Ford, Bernadette Peters, Paulette Attie, Rebecca Spencer, Sally Martin, Julie Wilson, Barbara Cook, Raquel Bitton, Nancy Kelly, to name a few. The American cabaret is well and alive.

Photo: Hilary Kole, one of my favorites. Superb singer at so many levels.

Cabaret chanteuses in Europe were born "Cabaret Chanteuse". They define and adopt a permanent and ever-lasting style from their very first debut. In other words, you will not find two similar Edith Piaf or Catherine Sauvage in France. Per contra, an infinitesimal reproductive number of cabaret chanteuses styles are copied and re-invented everyday in the United States. Call it artistic re-productivity or creativity, if you wish, but to be politically correct, such creativity is in fact "copiage". However, nowadays, a bouquet of chanteuses in the United States illustrates their talent with an extreme originality which found fertile soil in creativity-conformity. Consequently, for a cabaret chanteuse in America to become popular and widely recognized, she must remain faithful to the cabaret traditional roots, yet, at the same time, project herself as totally different from others; different in her appearance, looks, wardrobe, musical arrangements, repertoire selection, packaging, the locations and spots where she will be performing, the flair and tempo of the music beat and delivery, the choice of her pianist, the lighting and "illuminage" she requires on stage, her willingness to freely incorporating French songs and ballades or absolute tendency to exclusively sing songs written by American composers, etc...Ahead of her, a multitude of factors and decisions are to be considered. One bad decision and she will exit from the backstage door for good. CONTINUES NEXT