Distracciones en red: Billie Holiday. Imagina que eres uno de los que la oyó la primera vez que se puso a cantar.

“One day we were so hungry we could barely breathe. I started out the door. It was cold as all hell, and I walked from 145th to 133rd … going in every joint trying to find work … I stopped in the Log Cabin Club, run by Jerry Preston … told him I was a dancer. He said to dance. I tried it. He said I stunk. I told him I could sing. He said sing. Over in the corner was an old guy playing the piano. He struck “Trav’lin,” and I sang. The customers stopped drinking. They turned around and watched. The pianist … swung into “Body and Soul.” Jeez, you should have seen those people—all of them started crying. Preston came over, shook his head, and said, “Kid, you win.” —Billie Holiday,Downbeat Magazine, Via)

Enlace a Body and Soul

Fuente de la imagen

Una vez que empieza el balanceo de los acordes de Summertime, estos pasan a convertirse en un entorno en estado estacionario en el que una interprete de talento puede moverse a su gusto. Puede introducir inflexiones en las notas, añadir ornamentos, desplazar la línea hacia arriba y hacia abajo. Billie Holiday y Sidney Bachel hicieron de Summertime una creación propia (Ross, Axel, El ruido eterno,  Seix Barral, 2009, p. 194)