Of all the bars in all the world...

Of all the bars in all the world...

By William Furney

JAKARTA (JP): It seemed like just another gig for yet another
washed-out, aging almost-made-it songstress. Barren bar, obscure
singer, drunken Western businessman, his young Indonesian
girlfriend camcording him agonizingly dueting with singer until
the batteries go dead and she retreats to the bar, taking mild
comfort in yet another Diet Coke, wondering what sense was to be
made of it all.

Yet there was something about this singer. As the girlfriend
helps her man to his hotel room, Zelphia Otis begins her last
soulful song of the night, crediting band members to empty chairs
and reminding people who are not present to return the following
night. The 43-year-old sings the song with force and enthusiasm,
as though the bar were brimming.

It was just another night for the jazz singer, just another
venue. Except the Regent Bar happens to be many thousands of
kilometers from her native New Orleans. The unusually quiet night
offering a glimpse into the Southerner with the soulful voice.

Known in the United States as Diva Z, because of her diva
antics, she comes from a vocal family: Lena Horne is her
grandmother's cousin. Aged four, her mother had her tinkling the
ivories, time she says she would rather have spent playing with
neighborhood friends. A social worker by day for 12 years, and
singer by night, Zelphia then sold liqueur for 10 years before
finally making it as a singer. Now she divides her time between
performing in the U.S., working on her FAITH project -- an
organization she founded to promote young artists, and appearing
in Southeast Asia's finest establishments, including in Singapore
and Taiwan. This is her first stay in Indonesia.

Question: What was it like growing up in New Orleans during
the Civil Rights Movement?

Answer: Children were the entertainment during those days and
as an only child, I was just vying for attention. Lena and her
mother and my grandmother's mother came from slavery together, so
there has always been a big emphasis on family gatherings and
reunions. Every Saturday we'd get together and have a gathering.
My mother was a big Diana Washington fan. I could always tell
when she was going through some kind of trial because she only
played Diana. The idea of bringing kids up with their culture was
important. It was also important to have an education and we had
to start learning music early. These were the priorities in the
1960 when the Civil Rights Movement was a big deal. If the doors
were to be opened to African-Americans, we had to be educated. As
a child, though, you resist things like that, but later on I was
grateful.

Did you know from an early age you would be a singer?

I started to get into all kinds of music when I was about 7
years old. Then I got into dancing and was a child model on TV.
In St. Louis, Missouri, where we moved to, I was probably the
only black child on the television. We grew up in a cul-de-sac
area, right next to a stockyard where they had livestock they
brought in for slaughter and auction. Next door were Miles Davis'
parents. His father was the local dentist and respected in the
neighborhood. Miles, of course, was grown when I was a child but
he had a brother called Vernon who use to peep through the fence
daily and scare me. Sometimes he dressed like a woman and I
didn't understand (what he was doing), until my parents found
out.

In high school, I wanted to be on Broadway and in the movies.
I was thinking drama but my parents said 'no way'. They didn't
see it as being very practical, and I was black. I loved theater,
you could be lots of different people. I loved Shakespeare, and
even today I dream of being in Hamlet. But I went to college and
got a degree in political science. My master's, though, is in
civil engineering.

When did you begin working as a singer?

I started playing the piano with a 12-piece band, Images and
Infinity, the year after I left college. There were three young
ladies and one young man on vocals. But they were never in key
and that really bothered me. I have this thing about meticulous
harmony. I was forever yelling at this group of people and the
bandleader became very frustrated with me, as I had no patience
in his opinion. He said, 'Well, if you can do it better, you do
it yourself.' So I got up and started doing it. And you know
what? We're still a band. We've spent about 17 years working with
high school kids. A lot of great kids have come out of it like
Russell Gunns, who just won three Grammy Awards and is the number
one trumpeter in the U.S. People say, 'This is a a band that
pulls kids up.' And that was basically the precursor to my FAITH
project, except that we're a world of musicians coming together
to help each other as well as the youth.

Have you always been so particular about those you work with?

Even today I'm very hard on musicians. Nobody can fool me; I
know the music. I know the way music was written. Improvisation,
of course, is everything, but it does not mean changing the
notes. That's what jazz is and that's why I chose this style of
music. Some of the guys here in Indonesia are listening to
remakes of remakes of remakes, and they haven't gone back to the
true word to find out what it really was. They're trying to
expound on what has already been expounded on already. And that's
not the way to do it. Otherwise, you won't have an opportunity to
express yourself, the way James Moody did when he wrote Moody's
Mood.

Has it always been jazz for you?

The word alone is so significant to me. Whoever came up with
J-A-Z-Z is phenomenal. I used to say it was an acronym for Jazz
and All that Zipping and Zapping, because that's what it sounds
like to me. It makes you feel alive.

Why don't you write your own songs?

I've never tried my hand at writing melodies. I'm a lyricist,
though. Everybody that works with me asks why I don't, given my
musical background. I've just never taken the time to do it, I
guess.

How is it living so far from home, albeit in a five-star
hotel?

It's great. The minute I wake up, I pick up the phone and ask
them to send up a replacement thermos of coffee. Then I hang up
and dial again, asking for some non-dairy cream to go with my
coffee, which is on its way.

This is the first time I've ever been lonely though. I
haven't been able to get out and make my own friends. But I'm
glad I do things like working out and swimming.

Even though you had a number of day jobs, you kept on singing
at night. Why?

I had to go out and sing. I couldn't imagine my life without
the music. The music was what I wanted to do and I worked the day
job to keep the money rolling in. Music doesn't pay all that well
in the big city; you know, there's a lot of competition out
there.

Did you ever want to be a star on the national stage?

I love to hear people say that word, 'star'. I have never
wanted to be a star. I've just wanted to do music; I've just
wanted to have a stage. (Among other things,) I do music camps at
the universities. That's my stardom -- helping other people. I
have this philosophy that 'you've got to give it away to keep
it'. That's far more rewarding. Life is nothing unless you give
it away; it's not yours anyway.

How vibrant is the jazz scene in the States?

It's fabulous. I should have had a twin, so that I could play
New Orleans and St. Louis at the same time. There's are 72 jazz
houses in St. Louis -- about 26 of them are Latin jazz houses.
Everyone wants the best, and there are a few of us who are.

Why did you and your husband divorce?

He made a mistake and in America adultery is a big issue --
just ask Clinton. We've been divorced seven years and we're a
couple now. We're better off than we ever were. He runs a
methadone clinic in St. Louis and he just hired my retired mother
as the head nurse. My daughter is now 17, she's a hairdresser by
day and a premed student by night. She sings but doesn't have an
ambition for the stage. She'd rather be in church singing for the
Lord, that's her mission and I love that.

As a Baptist, how important is God in your life?

He's everything. That's why I do what I do. I play the piano
for eight choirs in my church back home. There are things He has
promised me. When I read the Bible, I see nothing but promises
written specifically for me. When God says I gotta help others,
that's what I do, and I'll have a better life.

I love the Lord. I went to a Christian service at the Hilton
last Sunday and it was great. Recently, I sent my mother US$600
in a package and the money was stolen. It hurt me so bad and I
was hysterical. But then I said, 'There you go letting the devil
step into your life.' Anytime you place a high value on these
worldly things, you're forgetting about God and all his promises.

Did you have any fears or reservations about coming to
Indonesia, in light of the ongoing troubles here?

I knew that Indonesia was a big place. I'd been to Bali a
couple of times, when I was in Singapore. I knew that most of the
problems were in East Timor and other places, not in Jakarta. So
I had no fears. My ma's on the phone every day, though; she's
going nuts.

But it seems that all hell has broken loose in Jakarta since
I've come to town.

Coming from the airport, I was thinking, 'My God, what are
those ghastly gases?' The pollution is the only thing I don't
like here. One of the things I love is the food, it's so Creole
-- hot and spicy. I plan to come back.

Zelphia is appearing nightly at the Regent Bar at The Regent
Jakarta from 9:15 p.m. to 1 a.m., except Sundays, until Dec. 6.