Ethel Azama
| Ethel Azama | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 28, 1934 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| Died | March 7, 1984 (aged 49) Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| Genres | Jazz, traditional pop, haole |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocalist |
| Years active | 1955—1984 |
| Labels | Liberty |
| Associated acts | Marty Paich, Paul Conrad, Jimmy Borges, Johnny Todd, Arthur Lyman |
Ethel Azama (August 28, 1934 – March 7, 1984) was an American jazz and popular singer and recording artist. She sang regularly in nightclubs and other concert venues between the mid-1950s and 1984. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and was of Okinawan ancestry. She was a Nisei or second-generation Japanese American.
She started her professional career in 1955 as an emcee at the Oasis nightclub in Honolulu. The club served as a venue for musical revues from Japan. In 1956, she began working as a standards singer in U.S. military clubs on Oahu such as The Cannon Club on Diamond Head. Pianist Paul Conrad usually served as her accompanist for her gigs. Conrad also wrote many of her arrangements. By 1957 she was singing at Waikiki Beach nightclubs as the opening act for headliners such as popular singer Herb Jeffries and blues singer and guitarist Josh White. With the help of bandleader Martin Denny, Azama obtained a one-album deal with Liberty Records (1957–58). She released the album Exotic Dreams in 1958, which Paul Conrad arranged, on which she sang standards, including "Speak Low" and "Autumn Leaves". She sang a few hapa-haole numbers and a Japanese folk song on the album. She made had her singing debut on the American mainland in January 1959 when she appeared at Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills, California.
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