A class cabaret act
Steve Ross has always played the piano. He remembers beginning at age six and never looking back. His love for the instrument accompanied him through little shows in high school, a stint in the seminary where he played the organ and later when he was a recruit in the army, stationed in Washington State, he still played whenever he could. However, Steve’s music was yet to undergo its most significant transformation – but his encounter with cabaret in Manhattan in the ’60s would do the trick.
“I didn’t know much about something called ‘cabaret’ when I first got to Manhattan…I just knew about playing in bars, clubs and saloons. And bear in mind that before I got here I didn’t sing either,” says the man who has since been dubbed ‘the suavest of all
Pic courtesy steveross.net
male cabaret performers’ by the New York Times and ‘the smoothest cabaret act in the world’ by the London Times. Steve, who will be performing on February 21, at the Taj Samudra in Colombo, has his signature one-man show lined up for local audiences. He describes it as “a potpourri of songs” taken from his general repertoire as well as drawn from his shows over the years.
He’ll be doing selections from what has become known as ‘The Great American Songbook’, covering the likes of Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, Dietz & Schwartz, Lerner and Loewe and Stephen Sondheim. His favourite composer Cole Porter will make an appearance as will some British favourites (Ivor Novello and Noel Coward). He has planned a piano salute to Edith Piaf, numbers by Charles Trenet and selections from his most recent show, ‘I’m In Love with Vienna’. “And then there’s always Fred Astaire,” he says.
Steve is famous not just as one of America’s most accomplished cabaret performers. He’s also known for his work in the off-Broadway production ‘I Won’t Dance’ (a 1992 tribute to Fred Astaire) and in 1997 was part of the acclaimed Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s ‘Present Laughter’. The latter in particular has long been an inspiration – in fact Steve laid down a disc of previously unrecorded Coward material which he is hoping to have available at the show and from which he promises to sing a song or two. Of course, his interpretation of the famous composer’s work is very much his own – “I perform Mr. Coward’s songs a bit more broadly (referring to the comedic pieces) than he did – it seems to work better for me,” he told the Sunday Times in an email, adding,“I refer to this genius as the songwriter who raised waspishness to an art form.”
On the other hand, there’s the challenge of capturing the great tenderness Coward was capable of. “I always say that love songs are the test of a composer’s worth. Which isn’t to say that patter, satirical and rhythmic songs are easy to write – but to tap into this elusive notion, as it were, of romantic love – ain’t easy.”
After all these years of performing, Steve finds that it is a form of truthfulness that actually wins his audience over. “I feel that it’s rather more important to be honest in expressing your feelings through music if the public is right in front of you. The cabaret audience looks to be moved by the refraction of emotions through the songs – not necessarily a big vocal gesture.” Referring to Mabel Mercer (“the doyenne of all of us who do this”), he points out that toward the very end of her career she often employed very few “singing” notes and almost recited the lyrics, “but boy could she make you laugh and cry!”
By all accounts, moving his audience to emotion is something that Steve accomplishes with ease. He is long been known as one of America’s most popular cabaret performers, appearing in a range of venues from clubs to theatres to concert halls. He is hailed as a leader in New York’s cabaret revival, his bio notes that he “has spent decades singing and playing in smart clubs and swank parties all over the world including the Ritz in London, the Crillon in Paris and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo as well as tours in Australia and Brazil and on the high seas”. He is also known for having hosted a live series for BBC Radio 2, Steve Ross and Friends, and was host as well of New York Cabaret Nights, a popular series on America’s National Public Radio.
His attempts to spread the gospel of cabaret also include many teaching stints and master classes. “I try to spread the word about these great songs with everybody,” he says.“Most of the current generation of young adults don’t really know much about this cache of great material – I do my best.”
He comes to Sri Lanka fresh from a “wonderful” club in Los Angeles – Vitello’s Jazz. Steve will tell you jazz is a far easier sell than cabaret, in part because it’s instrumental. “I try to think of the songs as little playlets or stories – if the audience goes along on the journey with me, as they might while attending a play, they often find their own emotions liberated and their hearts as well as their minds touched. That’s my goal, actually.”
In Colombo, his concert’s proceeds will benefit the Federation of Environmental Organizations (FEO) and The Music Project. The former is an umbrella organisation for the conservation community in Sri Lanka, while The Music Project is a charity that aims to uplift the lives of children in two deprived farming communities in Kurunegala and Mullaitivu through orchestral participation and music.
| Steve Ross performs in Colombo for just one night, February 21 at the Taj Samudra. Box office opens at The Commons on February 12. Tickets are priced at Rs. 5,000 and include canapés. |