photograph by craig thompson
Kortland performing with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra Big Band at the Overton Park Shell’s Sunset Symphony in 2023.
There’s something about the Whalums. Over four generations, members of the respected Memphis family have distinguished themselves time and again in the fields of music, worship, and public service.
Paterfamilias Kenneth Whalum Sr. found success within the U.S. Postal Service in his native Memphis, then in Cleveland and Detroit, but he ultimately found his calling in his hometown as a man of the cloth. Kenneth Sr. had grown up singing with his musical father, a leader in the A.M.E. Church, before attending LeMoyne-Owen College and the Memphis Theological Seminary. For 30 years, Kenneth Sr. served as senior pastor of Olivet Baptist Church, then founded Olivet Fellowship Baptist Church before his death in 2007. And it was in the church where his own family’s musicality would flourish, and all three of Kenneth Sr. and Helen Whalum’s sons (Kenneth Jr., Kirk, and Kevin) remain deeply musical to this day, along with their own children. Kenneth Jr. has followed in his father’s footsteps most directly, now presiding over the same church his father founded.
That is the world that has surrounded Kortland Whalum, son of the Rev. Kenneth Whalum Jr. and his wife, Sheila, throughout his life. Even as Uncle Kirk grew to be a world-class saxophonist and producer (that’s him playing on Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and many hits by Luther Vandross) — garnering a dozen Grammy nominations and one win — and Uncle Kevin won acclaim as a singer (often appearing on Kirk’s albums), Kortland was also surrounded by the music of the church.
The Whalum men of music at the first concert to feature them all together onstage, in 2012 at Olivet Baptist Church. L-R: Kenneth Whalum Jr.; the late Hugh “Peanuts” Whalum; cousins Evan, Kameron, Kyle, and Kortland; Kevin Whalum; Kenneth Whalum III; and Kirk Whalum.
“I didn’t want to be like my brother.”
The family is what started it all, I think,” Kortland reflects. “And not just my uncles being performers. Even my mom and my grandmother were singers, and I grew up in that environment where music is all around. It wasn’t something that I chose; it chose me.”
Not that the Whalum children were railroaded into musicianship. Speaking with me in 2019, Kortland’s Uncle Kirk shared a few thoughts about his very musical upbringing. As a child, he said, “I didn’t feel any pressure [to play music] at all. I couldn’t wait. It was all volitional, from day one.” The Whalums have come by their talent naturally. “My grandmother taught piano and played the pipe organ at Metropolitan Church, and one of my uncles was dean of music at Morehouse [College],” Kirk noted, before bragging on the next generation:
“Now our son, Kyle, plays bass with Kelly Clarkson. My nephew, Kenneth Whalum III, is an incredible saxophone player. He has records out as a vocalist and a saxophonist and has played with Maxwell, Beyonce, and Jay Z. My nephew, Kameron, plays trombone with Bruno Mars. And I’ve got a third nephew in the theater scene. We just went to see him in Cats, and he’s an incredible singer. His name’s Kortland.”
“I’ve been able to learn so much about music and about myself through these theatrical moments. With each production I see the growth, and I appreciate the growth. Everything just ties into each other. I couldn’t have planned it better and I’m just pushing myself to keep going further and further.”
— Kortland Whalum
Surrounded by such talent, focusing on voice was one way for Kortland to find his own way into music. “I wanted to play the saxophone just like my Uncle Kirk,” says Kortland today. “In middle school, we had to pick an instrument, and I wanted to take the saxophone, but my older brother [Kenneth Whalum III] took that instrument. I didn’t want to be like my brother, so I said, ‘How about I just join the choir and do some singing?’ And that’s really when it made sense for me. When my family saw that I could sing, they put me in talent shows and things like that. That’s really when it clicked for me.”
Beginning with his first performance at age six, Kortland found inspiration in Sunday services. “Singing in church was my first stage,” he says. “You’re able to get comfortable, you’re able to work the kinks out. And while you’re doing all of that, you have the love and support from the church members. I think that’s why there are so many successful artists who come from church — because they had that love foundation.”
photograph courtesy kortland whalum
Kortland after singing with the MSO Big Band on Mother’s Day at The Dixon Gallery and Gardens last year, with cousin Kori, brother Kameron, and their children on his right, and his parents Sheila and Kenneth Jr. on his left.
“You have to do it because you love it.”
As he grew older, Kortland gained exposure to more secular worlds, especially when he attended Overton High School, a bastion of local arts education. “My first experience with Broadway and the stage was when I went to New York with Overton in 10th grade. I believe we went to see Aida, The Lion King, and other musicals. And I was like, ‘This is crazy! These people are actually singing and acting and having a blast on stage in New York City. Like, who doesn’t want to do that?’ So that set my trajectory for the stage.”
photograph by jamie harmon
That goal was only reinforced after graduation. Like many of the Whalums, Kortland attended Morehouse College, where he not only developed his vocal skills, but became even more enamored with the theater. “I went to Atlanta for college, where I met Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show,” he says. “And I became her assistant. During that time, I was able to learn so much about acting and business and things like that.”
After college, as he rubbed shoulders with the stars and lived in New York for six years, a career in the big-city theatrical world seemed to beckon. But when he was offered a part in Hattiloo Theatre’s 2016 production of The Wiz, he began to reconsider a return to Memphis. And judging from his performance, he relished performing for the hometown crowd. As Chris Davis wrote in the Memphis Flyer at the time, “Kortland Whalum has so much presence as the Tin Man it starts feeling like his show every time he sings.”
“I didn’t want to be here this long,” Kortland laughs now. “I was going to pursue my dreams in California. But I got the call for The Wiz and I said, ‘This is a great opportunity. So let me come home.’ I’ve been here ever since, and each year the shows have become more frequent.”
photograph by jamie harmon
Indeed, Kortland, who will turn 40 this August, is a regular presence in local productions now. Clearly he impressed his Uncle Kirk in Cats a few years ago, and in 2018 he elicited another rave review from Davis, who noted of Hattiloo’s Raisin (a musical adaptation of Raisin in the Sun) that “Kortland Whalum’s leave-it-all-on-stage take on Walter Lee Younger is really something to see. Whalum feels nothing lightly and his words and songs land like punches — some weak, flailing and ineffectual, some like haymakers. It’s as rich a performance as I’ve seen in ages.”
Now he’s deep into rehearsals for Theatre Memphis’ production of Beautiful: The Carole King Story, scheduled to run from March 8 through March 30. “I’m playing one of the Drifters,” he says. “So that’s going to be fun: a lot of dancing and singing, and definitely my style of music.” And, he adds, there’s something special about doing theater in Memphis. “I just love the theater community here, because it’s literally a community, you know. There’s just a love here, in that you have to do it because you love it.”
Ultimately, the way Kortland sees it, his theatrical work here has led to considerable personal growth. “These musicals have been helping me to tap into that inner me more,” he says. “I’ve been able to learn so much about music and about myself through these theatrical moments. With each production I see the growth, and I appreciate the growth. Everything just ties into each other. I couldn’t have planned it better and I’m just pushing myself to keep going further and further.”
photograph courtesy kortland whalum / hattiloo theatre
Kortland backstage with makeup artist Sheila Guerrero during production of The Wiz.
“He still inspires.”
Meanwhile, as Kortland Whalum has pushed himself, he’s found his skill set expanding far beyond theater or even performance. After unexpectedly landing back in Memphis to stay, he’s thrown himself into ways to serve the community he loves. One of those has been education. Soon after his return, he took a vocal teaching position at the Stax Music Academy (SMA) for four years, a time that many at SMA remember fondly.
Tim Sampson, special projects director at SMA, who counts Kortland as one of his best friends, says, “He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. During his time at SMA, we traveled to Europe together with the students — opening festivals for William Bell and Mavis Staples — and he was very inspiring. He still inspires students, in fact, because he’s such a theatrical role model.”
photograph by ally perkins
Look for this face on a Playbill near you.
More recently, Kortland keeps one foot in public service, sitting on the board of the Memphis Listening Lab, the nonprofit vinyl record library in Crosstown Concourse. But his real passion continues to be singing, and lately he’s pursued that more seriously than ever, releasing an EP in 2021 of neo-soul originals titled A Love Letter. Unsurprisingly, returning to his dream of being a recording artist has helped him bond with his gifted extended family more than ever.
“The title track of A Love Letter features my whole family, basically,” he laughs. “I’m singing on it, my Uncle Kirk is playing on it, my brothers Kenneth and Kameron are playing on it, and my cousin Kyle is playing the bass. It was a beautiful moment when we recorded it.” The rest of the EP is just as carefully crafted, with more horn arrangements from brother Kameron, and some of Kortland’s most delicate vocals. For projects like this, he sets aside his theatrical voice and sings in the intimate style of a soul confession — or a prayer. As he puts it, that’s because his original music hits closest to his most authentic self, all theatrics aside.
“Whatever I’m dealing with, whatever I’m going through, whatever emotion I’m feeling,” he says, “I have a song in my heart. It really has been my therapy within myself. When I finish singing, I just really feel at ease. I feel everything’s going to be okay. I sing through happy times and through sad times. And it’s been like my twin throughout my life, just helping me navigate through this world that we’re in.”
And so Kortland Whalum forges ahead, determined to navigate this voyage of discovery, leaning into his art as a way to keep evolving. “With no partner or family, I am just a free hummingbird,” he chuckles. “I can do whatever the hell I want to do. I’ll just see what else God has in store, and there are definitely some things in the works. So I’m always putting myself in a position to be available. I just want to keep going, and keep the train moving.”
