By Filipe Freitas
Uri Gurvich, 2017, ©Clara Pereira
Name: Uri Gurvich
Instrument: tenor and soprano saxophone
Style: contemporary jazz
Album Highlights: The Storyteller (Tzadik, 2009), BabEl (Tzadik, 2013), Kinship (Jazz Family, 2017)
When did you decide to become a saxophonist? How did it happen?
I started playing the saxophone at age of 10. When I got into high school I was already pretty serious with it and got more into the instrument. Eventually as the years passed it evolved into being my profession. It wasn’t a certain decisive moment; it was just something that happened naturally.
Who are your favorite saxophonists?
My top three are John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Cannonball Adderley. These are the three I studied the most. I also love Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Joe Lovano and Michael Brecker.
Kinship is such a strong word and concept, which was the conceptual basis for your new album. How did the idea come up as motivation/inspiration?
With the album Kinship, the compositions came first and then the title. I tried to write tunes that had a certain connection or a shared message, showing the band’s special bond as a multi-national group of people. Being from four different countries, we have certain cultural differences but we share a common language and affinity through music. On a broader scale, we have seen a lot of divisions within society (especially in recent months), but our goal with this album was to spread a message of global unity. For me, the word “kinship” evokes all of these ideas.
Can you talk a bit about your compositional process?
I don’t have a specific compositional process, but I usually try to start with one decisive element; it can be a certain form, groove, portraying a certain place or person etc., even though sometimes this leads to a completely different thing! Then I see where it takes me from there. Also, I often write some little ideas or motifs in a notebook, and many times will go back to it or utilize some of those. Every couple of years, I try to keep the compositions within a certain vibe, with the hope of eventually creating a cohesive book/album of compositions.
Tells us an adjective that better describes you, and then do the same for your bandmates.
I think that the best adjective that describes us is – Courageous.
Your top three jazz albums?
John Coltrane – Crescent, Charlie Parker – Bird with Strings, John Coltrane – Live at the Half Note, and many others...
Name two musicians whom you've never collaborated with, but you'd like to.
It would be a dream to collaborate with Chick Corea or Bill Frisell.
What do you have to say about the current jazz scene?
I think that jazz music, all around the world, brings positive energy and uplifts the listeners’ spirits in these hard times. For me, that’s what jazz is about. Of course, the jazz scene is changing and will change as the world changes, but the message is here to stay.
Can you briefly describe the hardest and the happiest moments of your career?
My happiest moments have definitely been playing live music in different parts of the world. Usually, these moments were achieved through hard work and sometimes struggle, making them all the more memorable.
Projects for the future?
This fall, I’ll be presenting the new album in Germany, France, and Spain and also will be touring across Europe with the Danish bassist Kenneth Dahl Knudsen, and with the Argentinian guitarist Ramiro Olaciregui in Ecuador.
I’m also working on writing music for two new projects, which I’ll present in January 2018 in a weeklong residency at the Stone – one is a chord-less quartet featuring trumpet player Adam O’Farrill, and the other is an electric-centered band featuring bassist Panagiotis Andreou.