She has played Billie Holiday to perfection, has appeared in a plethora of rich film and TV roles, and will soon enlarge, and enrich, her tribute to the under-appreciated Ethel Waters. But the one role she has played like no other is herself – Rose Weaver.

If you ask why she refuses to be pigeonholed, Weaver replies, “I do whatever I feel like. We’re not here to censor ourselves in creativity. I’m often asked which one I would rather do – act or sing – but being a black woman, if I didn’t act or have a talk show, I couldn’t put my son through school. I did not get cast in every show.”

She did, however, have success in a dizzying number of film and TV productions – notably “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Poetic Justice,” “The Accused,” “Brother to Dragons,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “L.A. Law.”

She broadened her horizons and went to Boston in the ’70s, and did the advertising and industrial shows. That’s where the money was, and Weaver didn’t let false pride stand in her way.

Now, after carefully considering what’s next in her future, Weaver – who “didn’t perform anywhere much at all for seven years” – got her master of fine arts degree from Brown University, retired, and is making her comeback.

“I wanted to retire so I could get back to performing full-time,” she explains.

So she’s working with Cranston vocal coach Shoshana Feinstein, with whom she has a tremendous rapport, and they’re fine-tuning Weaver’s singing voice so it sounds better, stronger and more resonant than ever. She can be heard at the Providence Federation of Musicians’ concert Cavalcade of Bands, an extravaganza of swing and jazz bands, singers and ballroom dancers on June 23.

Weaver will front her own small group featuring pianist Greg Wardson, drummer Vinnie Pagano, reed player Kirk Feather and bassist Vern Graham. She says she’ll be singing jazz, swing and blues.

“It will be a lively experience,” she said. “I’m going to invite people to bring and twirl their parasols.”

Weaver recalls the fun she had touring with Conrad Janis, of “Mork & Mindy” fame, and his jazz band, which specialized in New Orleans jazz.

Among selections she’ll perform is “Do Nothin’ Till You hear From Me,” because she loves telling the story.

Weaver has a particular passion for the Ethel Waters show, feeling an almost religious calling to right a longstanding wrong. Waters was a famed singer and actress whose career spanned from the 1920s to 1960s, and Weaver feels Waters’ influence and legacy deserves greater recognition. She hopes to have the show ready by Black History Month.

“I’m working on it and I will take it out [on tour]. She has not been acknowledged by the industry or the NAACP,” Weaver said. “Ethel was a big trailblazer. Her memory is important to us. I’m not going to rest until she is given her due and her contributions to the performing arts are recognized. She was appreciated by people like Harold Arlen.”

The Cavalcade, Weaver notes, helps musicians in different ways. During the slumping economy, clubs weren’t hiring many bands, and those who found employment weren’t paid much.

“Now that people are spending money like crazy, the position of musicians is getting stronger,” she said.