‘I don’t think my mother knew I could sing’
◆ US singer Jason Gould talks to Naomi Clarke about growing up in a musical home, discovering his voice and exploring a new direction on his new EP
Many have been blessed with musical DNA, but to have been on the West End stage before you were born surely ensures you have rhythm running through your veins.
Shortly after the hit musical Funny Girl opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London in 1966, the show’s lead star, Barbra Streisand, announced she was pregnant with her first child – Jason Gould.
After her acclaimed run, Streisand gave birth that year in New York.
Gould grew up immersed in the arts, as his mother continued to record dozens of albums and star in a plethora of film and TV projects, while his father, actor Elliott Gould, appeared in everything from 1970 dark comedy M*A*S*H to classic US sitcom Friends.
Gould followed in their footsteps, with his first role alongside his mother in the 1972 film Up The Sandbox, before attending acting school.
After appearing in films including Say Anything, Listen To Me and The Prince of Tides, he only began branching out into music later in life, and says his mother did not even know he could sing.
“I never thought I would sing in front of anybody up until I was probably in my early 40s,” Gould, 57, tells me over a Zoom call from Los Angeles.
“But I always felt this impulse to make music, but I didn’t really know how to do it. So when I started to study songwriting I took a workshop, and I started to record songs that I had written.
“I wanted to also try singing songs I hadn’t written, and I came across How Deep Is The Ocean, and it was the first song I ever recorded that I didn’t write.
“And so I shared it with my mother – it was scary. I don’t think she knew that I could sing.”
After hearing him, Streisand wanted to collaborate with him on the cover, and when her next tour rolled around in 2012, she asked him to join her.
“I had never sung in front of anybody so it was an incredibly daunting task to go from nothing to a stadium of 18,000 people,” he admits.
While combating nerves and navigating touring through North America and Europe with his mother, he says singing with her was a “very personal and beautiful moment for us. Because when I was singing with her, it was just about me and her, and the audience happened to witness it.”
The song helped amplify Gould’s name within the music world, as it was released on Streisand’s 34th studio album Partners in 2014, which also featured duets including Billy Joel, John Legend and Stevie Wonder.
While he feels his love of music and creative expression is embedded “in my DNA”, he says he was afraid to sing for many years because of his mother’s legacy.
But after taking a leap of faith in himself, he released his first self-titled EP in 2012, and followed it up in 2017 with his debut album, Dangerous Man.
The 12-track record, which features a range of his original songs and jazz standards, highlighted his sweeping vocals and ability to pack a punch with the big notes.
Now, with a few more years under his belt in the industry, Gould is moving his sonic sound to places he has not explored before for his new EP.
It opens with his latest single Laws Of Desire, which pairs his emotionallycharged lyrics with a propulsive dancefloor beat, while nimble guitar-plunking is overlayed on synth sounds on tracks Run and Scared Days.
The change in direction came after his producer Stephan Oberhoff moved away, and he sought a new team which included songwriter Allan Rich, who has previously worked with global stars including Dolly Parton and Sir Rod Stewart, and his mother.
“I was interested in exploring dance music, more rhythmic music, more contemporary vibe,” he says.
“But I wouldn’t discount anything I made with Stephan earlier, it was all a part of my growth.
“I think I’ve also gained more confidence now and I feel freer to just explore whatever appeals to me. I just follow my instincts.”
Among his new tracks is World Gone Crazy, which he wrote while trying to process what he was witnessing in the world.
“The world we live in now, there’s so much pain and suffering and I’m so disturbed by it.
“And I think so many of us haven’t known what to do about it. What do we do about it?
“What human beings do to each other has been going on for a millennia, and I see so much injustice in the world.
“I feel quite proud of that song. And it couldn’t be more timely, I guess.”
Gould has also merged his two worlds by getting involved in the direction of his own music videos.
His moving video for World Gone Crazy features images of decimated buildings, victims of conflicts and world leaders spliced with clips of his passionate singing.
He says he has enjoyed the process of creating these short films as it has challenged his capabilities once again, something he continually strives to do.
“It’s just about being vulnerable, being human,” he says of his creative process. I guess that’s an artist’s job, right? Is to feel, to experience the world and then offer it out again for the masses.”