Tag: Babe Gurr

Constant musical evolution

Babe Gurr’s Butchart Gardens Summer Festival concert on July 24 is the first of several in July/August. (photo from Babe Gurr)

Musician Babe Gurr has a busy summer ahead with concerts at Butchart Gardens Summer Festival, Islands Folk Festival, Harmony Arts Festival and as part of the PNE’s Mosaic Concert Series.

The multiple-award-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer is well-known to many in the Jewish community, having performed at Rothstein Theatre and in the Chutzpah! Festival a number of times, including opening for Idan Raichel last year. Her most recent CD is Hearts Up to the Sun, which has earned deserved praise. On her website, Capilano University’s Gary Cristall – who, among many other career milestones, was a co-founder of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival – describes Hearts: “Musically, it is as hot as Louisiana hot sauce and the horn arrangements sound like they might well have come from there. Babe’s voice is sounding as good or better than ever. The band is great. But the songs … wow! The songs mark a step forward. They are even better than the ones she won awards for with her last release, SideDish.”

The Jewish Independent recently interviewed Gurr about her work and its beginnings.’

JI: I understand that it wasn’t until you were in your 20s that you joined a band and set off on a musical path. How did you end up joining a band, and what type of band was it? What were you doing (or planning on doing) as a job/career at the time?

BG: I joined my first band when I was 25 and it was a jazz/pop band, which was very stupid and daring of me as I knew nothing of jazz music other than what I heard of my parents’ album collection. I was living in Victoria at the time and working as a dental assistant, which never really fit as a job for me, but when I graduated high school, my parents didn’t think music could or would ever be an option and so steered me toward something respectable like working with teeth. Nothing against teeth – we all have and need them but, ugh, not for me. I really wanted to be involved with music and so I auditioned for this jazz/pop band and, amazingly, they took me under their wing and taught me the ropes of being in a band and, on the side, the lead guitar player, Dave English, would give me lessons on how to play the jazz chords on the guitar. Later on, I also started to sing and joined various bands over the years, playing rock, jazz, folk and top 40, before I started to write my own music.

JI: What was it about music that made you so passionate about it that you wanted to create it and try to make a living at it?

BG: That is a hard thing to put a finger on. I knew from a very young age I liked music and would lay on the floor with my head near my parents’ stereo speakers listening intently to the music. But I guess the pivotal point was seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show when I was a little girl – I just was completely wowed!

JI: You released Hearts Up to the Sun earlier this year, your fifth CD, I believe. How would you say your music/style has changed/evolved since your first recording?

BG: My music is a mash up of so many genres these days, pop, roots, blues, rock, world and a hint of jazz. I guess that is the result of the freedom one has when you are an independent artist and you have been around awhile, you just stop worrying about fitting in and create what you like, and then hope that you still have an audience for it.

JI: Do you have a specific creative process? If so, could you share how, in general, an idea becomes a song?

BG: I am fascinated by how a song will come to me – not that they are brilliant or complex but, still, it is a strange process, creativity. The music comes as a result of noodling on my guitar until I find something I like and the lyrics can be inspired by so many sources, some personal and others influenced by all that is happening around me.

JI: Could you tell me a bit about your band, how you guys got together, how long you’ve been playing together?

BG: I love the guys I play with, whether it is my three-piece or eight-piece band, they are all such talented players and so fun to work with. I have been playing with Nick Apivor, percussion/piano, for many years – I think we started to play in a duo in the late 1800s; actually, we met in our 20s. Then, I guess, violinist Tom Neville has been with me for about 10 or 12 years. The newer additions to the band are sax player Steve Hilliam, Malcolm Aiken on trumpet, Liam MacDonald on drums, Adam Popowitz on lead guitar and Darren Parris on bass.

JI: Are there any projects on which you’re currently working that you’d like to share with readers?

BG: There is a really interesting project that I will be involved with and we will be starting to workshop this summer, that puts together various dancers with a variety of musicians, but I am not able to talk about it yet – mum’s the word, for now.

JI: If there is anything else you’d like to add, please do.

BG: Another hat I like to wear is that of a record producer and I have been lucky enough to have produced a number of talented singers’ CDs along with my own. It probably is my favorite thing to do in the music business. I compare it to a painter who sits with a blank canvas with an idea and then takes that idea and expands and enhances it with colors and strokes or, in the musical sense, arrangements and various instruments and sounds. It is so exciting to hear a song come to life in the studio.

For information on Babe Gurr’s upcoming shows, visit babegurr.com.

Creativity at the crossroads for Idan Raichel

Idan Raichel performs for one night only at the Vogue Theatre on May 12. (photo by Eldad Rafaeli)

Vancouver audiences are in for a treat next month when Israeli musician and uber-producer Idan Raichel together with the ensemble of international musicians that comprise the Idan Raichel Project perform for one night only at the Vogue Theatre on May 12.

The IRP’s unique sound – a blend of African, Middle Eastern, Indian and Latin American rhythms and instruments, is familiar to Vancouver audiences. Their three previous tour stops here – also presented by the Chutzpah! Festival – were sold out well in advance. This time, in addition to old favorites, audiences will be treated to some songs from Raichel’s latest and most successful album to date, A Quarter to Six, released in late 2013 to enthusiastic reviews from music critics and fans, sky-rocketing to double-platinum status within two months of its release.

The album’s title, taken from a work by Israeli dramatist Yossi Banai, refers to the twilight hour, a time of transition from day to night. “This is a very special time in Israel, the change of the day … you can think about what has happened up until now, also what could happen,” explained Raichel, who spoke with the Jewish Independent from his home in Tel Aviv. “The hour of the day that is like the crossroads in life…. After 10 years with the Project, I feel we have reached this time … of change, a transition, both musically and personally.

“A Quarter to Six [is] a kind of closure,” mused the artist. “It speaks about the crossroads we have in life. I don’t know if it’s age, or different perspectives, but we all have it about life … it doesn’t have to be a matter of age, you can feel this crossroads when you are 15 or 50.”

More than a collection of songs, the album is what Raichel terms “a complete piece of art,” as it includes a booklet of small paintings that he has been working on for the past two years. This album “is a big musical journey – inside my life spiritually and outside, touring and collaborating with [musicians] from Germany, Portugal, Columbia. The thing that touches me the most is that people see each song fits … [it’s] part of a story and they are listening from start to finish, writing comments about the booklet.” The songs are “not just singles,” he continued. “Every song is a script in a movie, every scene is singing about the situation that he or she is in. At concerts, I see kids and their parents, grandparents with kids coming, it’s reaching a wide audience…. The first time this is a full album that goes deeply into the theme of crossroads in life.”

While the format of this album differs from previous recordings, what hasn’t changed is Raichel’s unique sound, created in part by the collaboration with international musicians. A Quarter to Six brings together an eclectic mix of voices, languages and musical disciplines with guest artists that include German counter tenor Andreas Scholl, Colombia’s Marta Gómez, Portuguese fado star Ana Moura, Arab-Israeli singer/songwriter Mira Awad, Malian singer and guitarist Vieux Farka Touré, and a selection of some of Israel’s top up-and-coming singers and musicians. Raichel wrote all the melodies and lyrics but collaborated with each artist, allowing them to interpret and adapt their song to their own personal style.

This latest record is a very personal album – mirroring the very real crossroads that Raichel faces at this stage of his life and career. The 36-year-old recently settled down with his steady girlfriend, became a father and – in a move that elicited some very strong reactions from fans across the world – cut off his trademark dreadlocks. Raichel agreed that in retrospect the album foreshadowed his own transition into adulthood.

image - A Quarter to Six cover
A Quarter to Six was released in late 2013 to enthusiastic reviews from music critics and fans, sky-rocketing to double-platinum status within two months of its release.

“Is it personal? When I wrote the album, I still had my dreadlocks, I was on and off in my relationship with my lady but somewhere inside I knew it was time to make decisions, to change things. I knew … I have to shave my dreadlocks after 14 years, I knew we were on and off but I knew I wanted her to be the mother of my kids.… Later on, it was natural. One month after the album was released, we knew that we were pregnant, things were happening.”

Having a child has opened Raichel up to a whole new world. Having a baby “gives me such a perspective about life…. I just enjoy this miracle, see how she develops and discovers new things every day…. It opens my appetite for more young creatures, maybe another nine or so. I wish!” But Raichel and his Austrian girlfriend, Damaris, are not planning on adding to their brood just yet. Their baby girl, Philipa Helena Damaris Raichel, remains with her mom in Israel while Raichel is on the road. “Damaris and the baby won’t tour with me…. I think it’s good to separate things. On the road, everyone has stuff to do. I don’t want them to feel forced to have to wake up early or, you know, to see the concerts every night.”

IRP’s blend of international musicians and sounds has put it at the forefront of the world music scene. In addition to that, Raichel calls the Project’s music “the soundtrack of Israel,” adding that the group plays the role of cultural ambassador for Israel. “The definition of world-music artist can change from one time to another, but world-music artists bring the soundtrack of where they come from. For example, Bob Marley is the voice of Jamaica; Edith Piaf, the voice of France; or like Miriam Makeba is the voice of South Africa. We feel honored when people describe our music as the soundtrack of Israel. If people don’t know anything about our country but can remember our music … especially people from conflict regions, then they see the other side of our culture.“

The past year has been a banner one for Raichel, who performed privately for Barack Obama during his state visit to Israel, appeared with French superstar Patrick Bruel and was awarded ACUM’s Composer of the Year 2013. To top it off, the popular Israeli entertainment magazine Pnai Plus named Raichel “Man of the Year.” Far from finding this flattering, the title made the unexpectedly humble musician feel uncomfortable. “Well, I was speechless then, and I’m speechless now,” he said. “In such a crazy country like ours, with so much happening every day, even every half day … how weird it [is] to get this recognition. I think a better Man of the Year would be … there is the story of one of the army commanders, he lost his two hands in an explosion and, a few months after that, he came back to the army to lead [his soldiers] again.” He added, “Just the struggle, even if it wasn’t an army, even if it was a soccer team … I don’t know, to see the power of good will, how strong you can be facing such trauma, how you can not give up to depression or pain or disappointment, that was an inspiration, I guess.”

Raichel said there is “a lot of good music coming from the Israeli music scene” nowadays. “It’s becoming more and more open to sounds from all over. Back in the day, you would hear less of the Yemenite roots, Middle Eastern influences,” it was “mostly Ashkenazi music.” And while he enthused about Israel’s modern musicians, mentioning DJ Avishai Cohen and Yemen Blues in particular, he still enjoys the music of Arik Einstein and Shoshana Damari. “Now, there are so many more radio stations, for more artists. Today, you hear music that more reflects the sound of the Israeli melting pot.”

Chutzpah! Festival artistic managing director Mary-Louise Albert said audiences are in for a whole new experience at the May 12 concert. “I have brought Idan back because it builds his audience here in Vancouver and I’m committed to supporting many artists beyond just presenting them one time. Artists develop and grow, so audiences get to experience this growth also when an artist performs multiple times.” With its 10-member ensemble (the largest of IRP’s Chutzpah! engagements), Albert said the Vogue Theatre is the perfect showcase for this high-energy, “plugged-in” event. “Vancouver audiences have not experienced this show before,” she said.

Opening for IRP is Vancouver’s Babe Gurr, who will showcase songs from her current album, SideDish, a unique blend of world music and her own roots style that has earned Gurr glowing reviews and a strong following.

Nicole Nozick is a Vancouver-based freelance writer and communications specialist.