Othella Dallas (September26, 1925 November28, 2020) was an American dancer and jazz singer. After working in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and Zurich, she opened a dance school in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

's Gundeldingen quarter in 1975, where she taught the Dunham technique.

Life and career

Dallas, whose mother was the first African American pianist to be heard on the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

radio, comes from a musical family; her half-brother is

Frank Strozier Frank R. Strozier Jr. (born June 13, 1937) is a jazz alto saxophonist. Strozier was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play piano. In 1954, he moved to Chicago, where he performed with Harold Mabern, George Coleman, and Booker Littl ...

W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

was her babysitter. In 1943 she was discovered by

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ma ...

at a school performance in St. Louis, who brought her to her dance company in New York. As a solo dancer for the Dunham Company, Strozier toured as far as South America and Europe. After their marriage, she moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1949. There she began to perform as a singer from 1952, also with greats like

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

. In addition, she founded a dance school there, as in the 1960s in Zurich, where she taught

Margrit Läubli Margrit Läubli (born 3 April 1928) is a Swiss dancer, stage, television and film actress, comedian, cabarettist and radio personality, starring usually in Swiss German language productions. Life and work Born and raised in Zürich, Canton of Z� ...

Daniel Spoerri Daniel Spoerri (born 27 March 1930) is a Swiss artist and writer born in Romania. Spoerri is best known for his "snare-pictures," a type of assemblage or object art, in which he captures a group of objects, such as the remains of meals eaten by in ...

Ruedi Walter Rudolf "Ruedi" Walter (born Hans Rudolf Häfeli, 10 December 1916 – 16 June 1990), was a Swiss comedian, actor and radio personality usually starring in Swiss German-language cinema and television and stage productions. Early life and educati ...

and

Margrit Rainer Margrit Rainer born as Margrit Rosa Sandmeier (9 February 1914 – 10 February 1982) was a Swiss comedian, radio personality, and stage and film actress starring usually in Swiss German language cinema and television and stage productions. Early ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

wrote two songs for her; The singer's first recordings were made in 1967 with Mac Strittmatter's septet. Further albums were made from the 1980s. On her seventieth birthday, she performed for three weeks in the Basler Tabourettli, and later toured Russia. Her CD 2008 I Live the Life I Love (2008) gave her appearances at the Festival da Jazz in St. Moritz as well as at the

Theater Rigiblick Theater Rigiblick or Theatersaal Rigiblick is a theatre in the German-speaking Switzerland situated in Zürich-Oberstrass. Built in 1901 as the restaurant ''Rigiblick'', the theater houses mainly guest performances, focussed on the dance theater. ...

in Zurich. Andres Brütsch made the documentary "Othella Dallas - What Is Luck? About her", which premiered in 2015. Her dance workshops, which she held not only in Basel, but also in other European cities such as London, were very popular because she was the last still active dance teacher who had danced with

. As a jazz singer, Dallas toured Switzerland with her band in 2019 as part of the "94th Anniversary Tour".

Discography

* ''Little Girl from Memphis: The Show 1925-1995'' (

Mons Records Mons Records is a German independent record label for jazz and classical music founded in 1991 by Thilo Berg in Trippstadt. The label has released music by among others Clark Terry, Jeff Hamilton, Bobby Shew, Tom Harrell, Ray Brown, Benn ...

1995, with Thomas Moeckel, Philippe Hammel,

Kirk Lightsey Kirkland "Kirk" Lightsey (born February 15, 1937, Detroit, Michigan) is an American jazz pianist. Biography Lightsey had piano instruction from the age of five and studied piano and clarinet through high school. After service in the Army, Lights ...

, Tibor Elekes,

John Betsch John Betsch (born October 8, 1945) is an American jazz drummer. Biography Betsch was born in Jacksonville, Florida. His family belonged to the African-American upper class; his grandfather was the black millionaire Abraham Lincoln Lewis and his ...

) * ''Fever for Bluesy Jazz'' (Mons Records 1995, with Matthias Bröde, Hubert Nuss, Christian Ramond, Hans Braber) * ''What's This Thing Called Love?'' (Brambus Records 2000, with Pius Baschnagel, Nick Mens, Thomas Silvestri) * ''I Live the Life I Love'' (Suonix 2008)

Awards

* 2019: Swiss Jazz Award

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas, Othella 1925 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee African-American jazz musicians American women jazz singers American jazz singers American female dancers 21st-century dancers Jazz musicians from Tennessee American expatriates in Switzerland Brambus Records artists African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women