She's "Taiwan's new flava, the Black Pearl of Asia" and she's going to put on an intimate cabaret at The Living Room in Taipei tomorrow that will feature feathers, theater, a lot of costume changes and a collection of songs stretching back to the 1920s.
The jazz singer Zorina London is also known as "The Cabaret Lady," "The Josephine Baker of Today," the "Queen of Feathers" and the "Darlin' of Nawlins."
James Brown gave her the soubriquet "The God Daughter of Soul" in 1982, when she was the lead singer and dancer of his backing band.
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
"He told me I was a lot like him," London said, "I give it all. If I've got 75 percent, that's what I give. If it's 100 percent that I've got that night, you get the whole lot, that's me. That's James."
Originally from Louisiana and San Francisco, London has performed around the world, covering the musical territory of jazz greats like Billie Holliday, Dinah Washington, Tina Turner and Sarah Vaughan. She has played alongside artists including BB King, Tony Bennett, Chick Corea, Taj Mahal and even Phil Collins.
For the past three years she has worked six months a year in Taiwan, writing shows, directing and performing. The rest of the time is spent in the US, where she is the assistant artistic director of the Black
Repertory Theater in Berkeley, California.
She was given her latest name, the Black Pearl of Asia, when she played at the local jazz club Brown Sugar. "They actually introduced me as `Brown Sugar,' but when I first sang, this guy says, `No, you're the Black Pearl,' and I thought about it and I thought, yes, this is my destiny. I was born with a black pearl." London pointed to a mole above her right breast. "You see, a black pearl."
"I'm studying the language. I want to record in all the languages. I sing in Chinese and Taiwanese, French and Spanish, and of course English. I'm learning Portuguese and Japanese. Josephine Baker sang in eight languages, I sing in five, so I've got a bit of catching up to do."
London, who is vibrant and great fun to be with, sees herself as the heir to Baker, the jazz giant and dancer who transformed not just show business, but also people's perception of black performers.
"Her [Baker's] last performance was recorded on my birthday, April 9. On one of the last songs, she was holding her hand out and it looked like she was passing the legacy to me. She went to France at 19. I should have gone then too, when I was 19, but I was too chicken to go. Then, finally when I went for 10 days, I had such a great time, it was like destiny."
London said in the past she has always traveled with someone, a manager or a backing band. "In America, I even used to pay someone US$50 to drive my new car to a show that was 40 miles away. That was my style, always with someone else. Here, I'm solo. It's like a miracle. My destiny is here now."
She defines herself as African-American and said her roots go back to being an Ashanti warrior princess from Ghana. "That's me, that's what I am. If you don't know where you come from then how do you know who you are or where you're going?"
"Since I was three years old I wanted to be an actress. I thought if I could sing and dance then that would be even better, so that's what I did and I guess that's why I want to do this cabaret thing, because I get to do all three.
"It's perfect for me. If I'm singing Billie Holiday then I am Billie Holliday. They call me a jazz singer but I do a lot of cabaret within that. When I do Tina Turner, I put on the wig and the whole bit. And when I do Josephine Baker I've got all the feathers and stuff, so that's the way I perform. It's theater, comedy, song and dance."
She also sees herself as an ambassador of African-Americans and tells the story about the time she went to a local dance studio. "A lot of the time people here think Americans are just white. I'm a black American and because I was black they said, `Could you do some hip hop for us?'
"I mean I'm 50 but that didn't stop me. And now I've got a rap thing and a techno thing coming out too called Superwoman 2004, a remake of an '80s hit and a hip hop song Bad Boys with DJ Jerry. "There's this line: `Taiwan's new flava, the Black Pearl of Asia.' That's me."
For her performance tomorrow the multi-talented singer will be covering old cabaret songs and "bringing a touch of Broadway and Las Vegas to town."
For your information :
Who: "The Black Pearl of Asia"
Where: The Living Room: 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd, Sec 5, Taipei, (
Cost: NT$450, includes drink. A dinner set beginning at 7pm is NT$900.
When: Tomorrow (June 12) and June 26.
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