You would be hard-pressed to find a bigger Cole Porter enthusiast than singer Bradford Newquist; his encyclopedic knowledge of the legendary songwriter encompasses the cerebral and the musical, with Newquist constantly performing many of Porter's standards during his sets. However, Newquist is hardly a one-note wonder—he has served as cantor, musical director and soloist for TV's Sunday Mass at Mercy for well over a decade, and has performed big-band, jazz, pop and Broadway songs at clubs, theaters and concert halls.
Newquist recently talked with Windy City Times about his musical background, his love of Cole Porter—and his unfortunate run-in with a stripper.
Windy City Times: I knew I had seen you on television.
Bradford Newquist: Yes. I have several different personalities—musically speaking. This is the end of my 16th year [ doing that ] .
I grew up Catholic, and it's a nice service for people who get in. So many people say, 'I saw you on TV.' Years ago, when I was a regular at The Gentry and was a regular on Saturdays until two in the morning and people would say, 'How do you...?' [ Laughs ] Luckily, [ the TV services ] are taped, and we tape so far in advance we wonder if we're going to be alive when [ they air ] . We're done through September already. A steady gig is a good thing to have.
WCT: Tell me about your background.
BN: I was born in California and moved [ soon thereafter ] to Oklahoma. My parents listened to music. My mother is not very musically inclined and my grandfather played the accordion in an Italian band. ( My mother is Italian and my father is Swedish. ) I had really good mentors in school; I loved my junior-high teacher. When it was time to go to college, I couldn't fathom [ studying ] anything else.
WCT: How did you come to fall in love with big-band music?
BN: I don't know if I want to start talking about reincarnation, but it was just always there. When I started singing it, it made sense to me. Some of it I just knew already—don't ask me how. It's always been a huge love of mine.
After college, I did a lot of cruise-ship work. We did a lot of things but I loved the music of the '30s and '40s. Then I started working with the Stanley Paul Orchestra for 13 years, where I sang everything from Dean Martin to Ricky Martin. I had a blast singing rock and roll, but give me Dean Martin any day.
WCT: And then there's Cole [ Porter ] . What is it about his music?
BN: I don't know; I just love everything about him. I don't write—and maybe I admire that he wrote his own music and lyrics. His music can be so funny but also so unbelievably passionate. I've been doing the Cole Porter show since '96, and I could do it every day. There's something about him and I don't pretend to be him, but I like to bring some sort of authenticity to his music.
We all have some sort of passion, and those who find it are the lucky ones. I tried other jobs. A dream marketing job fell into my lap in the early '90s. I thought that I'd give it a whirl—and I was absolutely miserable. I [ eventually ] quit and got a job on a cruise ship—and my parents were like, 'Thank God. You were a wreck.' [ Laughs ]
WCT: I take it that Cole Porter would be your dream collaborator—by a mile. Who would come in second?
BN: [ Pauses ] I think, because of my age, I had this mad love affair with Olivia Newton-John. Years ago, when my Cole Porter CD came out, I went to Tower Records to see it—and I was so excited to see that it was right next to [ hers ] . And it wasn't too far away from Barry Manilow, who I also adore. Barry gets a lot of flack, but I think his writing's great and he does an amazing job of staying low-profile.
One of my first CD reviews, in a Tulsa [ Okla. ] newspaper said, 'with a voice likened to Barry Manilow's.' I'm going to take it as a compliment.
WCT: What's something a lot of singers do wrong regarding their technique?
BN: Imitate. I think they try—maybe subconsciously. They listen to people so much that they imitate a style or genre or specific person. That's why people at karaoke bars kill me; people who are really into karaoke are amazing. They're good imitators, even if they're not necessarily good singers. People need to use their own voices; finding one's own style is hard for some. I've never been that great an actor, although I so admire people who can take on roles.
WCT: Have you noticed a rise in the interest in jazz?
BN: My jazz quartet does a lot of weddings, which surprises me; I thought we'd be doing more corporate affairs and benefits. I'm working with a party planner and they'll have me talk with a couple [ that's getting married ] and I'm thinking, 'This is a twentysomething girl and her husband; this is a high-end wedding and they're going to want a big orchestra or a lot of rock [ music ] .' So many say, 'We want a really classy affair with music our friends and parents will like. We just want a nice, beautiful evening with string music.' The husband, who looks like a linebacker, would say, 'I want jazz—like Porter and Gershwin.' I'm like, 'OK.' So I'm delighted; there's something about those standards.
WCT: What is the weirdest concert experience you've had?
BN: I think the most interesting thing happened in a cabaret club in Minneapolis. They were trying to set up an elegant place—waiters with white shirts and bowties. This club happened to be right next door to a strip club. The grand piano was up on a ledge, with tall tables right around it. One of the strippers came in—and she was big, and wearing a crop top. Every time I looked at her, she would raise her shirt up, and her breasts were sitting right there on the table!
My show is fun, but it's not Rudy de la Mor. While Cole Porter would have probably loved to have seen her, it was really distracting; the audience started laughing. So, on a break, I went up to the manager and said, 'You need to help me with this; I can't be catty with her because that's not my style.' And he said, 'There's nothing we can do. She works next door and tips really largely.' So I said, 'If she doesn't stop, I'm not going to go on.' And he said, 'Fine.' So I left. I did perform there again, but I was just done for that night.
Bradford Newquist will perform at Gentry on State, 440 N. State, on Tues., March 18, 9 p.m.-1 a.m., as part of that nightclub's 25th anniversary month-long celebration. He will also do a Cole Porter show at Bailiwick Repertory, 1229 W. Belmont, Sat., April 5, 7 p.m., with Melissa Young. See www.bradfordnewquist.com for more information.
