Cortes Alexander has made a long and fruitful career out of performing in vocal ensembles, with high notes including his tours with Liza Minnelli, most recently as part of her "Liza's At the Palace" tour. Now he takes center stage with "The Swell Show," which arrives at Davenport's, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave., on Thursday, Dec. 15, at 8 p.m.
"The Swell Show" comprises songs Alexander learned from Minnelli and her godmother, Kay Thompson; some standards; and a few originals off his debut album, Swell. Alexander will be joined by his "Swell Girls," Melissa Bailey and Jennifer Rappo, who have a show-stopping duet in the middle of his set.
Alexander spoke with Windy City Times about his big jump from group performer to headliner as well as Minnelli's many influences on his career.
Windy City Times: After so many years performing in ensembles, what led you to creating your solo project in Swell?
Cortes Alexander: I guess I realized that I was leaning on collaboration to knock some of the responsibility for trying to stand up on my own. I was kind of almost leaning on those collaborations like a crutch in a way. I love teams and working together and all that kind of stuff, but it was becoming an excuse to not want to take responsibility for my very own thing. That's where it came from.
WCT: How would you gauge your reaction to being in the spotlight so far? Is it strange or even scary being a headliner?
CA: Duck in the water! Actually, it's okay, because even though you're doing your own thing, you're not really by yourself. I've got my Swell Girls that I can kind of lean on if I start to have anxiety in the middle of the show. It's a lot of fun. In the beginning, I was nervous, but the reaction has been so favorable that it's completing quieting any anxiety that I might of had.
WCT: How have the artists you've worked with over the years, namely Liza, helped shape the music you wanted to write and the performance you wanted to do?
CA: She's very encouraging about this and always has been. I think, as a stage performer, no matter what you do, you breathe in influences wherever you can and you learn from the next one. You take little bits of pieces of influence on the subconscious level and apply it to your own art. When I first started with Liza—almost 15-20 years ago maybe—it was literally like being shot out of a very glamorous cannon. I learned in an hour and a half what it takes people years and years and lots and lots of shows to learn. She has been a fantastic mentor and an even better friend.
WCT: In what ways has Liza influenced you in terms of the behind-the-scenes elements—what you don't see or hear?
CA: I've watched how she treats us and her band members and all the people she tours with and I've really learned by example. … She does absolutely everything to make people feel comfortable and to make people feel encouraged and valuable and worthy and talented.
I think it's a wild thing because the perception of her as sort of this legendary entity—while that is obviously true—it's not really who she is as a person. At the end of the day it's a person who is aware of that but is out of it enough to be able to pass on the very grounded aspects of being an artist, the things that you need that you would like to hear and the kind of encouragement and counsel that you need that someone of her experience can really give you. So I try and pass that on in my collaboration with my small show. I really learned you get the best out of people by treating them well.
WCT: It sounds like rather than just a concert, people will be getting a more theatrical experience when they see your show. What do you have in store for them?
CA: Great music, a lot of stories—a little about Liza and a little about getting older. When it came together I had my set list in my living room on Post-Its on my walls. I was looking at it and thinking if I wasn't singing this show I would love it. If it was anybody else singing it I would totally go and have a great time and that's just me being totally objective. I think it's a lot of fun, I certainly have a great time doing it and the response so far has been really terrific. There's something for everyone in it, so you'll have a great time.
WCT: What's next? Do you have more material for another studio album or will you stick with live performance?
CA: I want to keep developing this and tweaking it. I have total musical ADD. I'm always finding something new and let's replace this with that, so I'll probably stay with this for a while and see how far we get with it. … I think about orchestrating it or if I could get maybe a couple of horns. It is ready to build it up, but it's expensive and I don't want to do it unless I really feel like we've got some really swell momentum going. But a lot of the stuff would lend itself to more augmented orchestrations, so that could be down the line.
Tickets for "The Swell Show" cost $15 and can be purchased by visiting www.davenportspianobar.com .
