Middle Eastern spice peppers Sela’s sound
Sax man says growing up in Israel shaped his diverse approach to jazz
Montreal saxophonist Tevet Sela likes to say he plays jazz with an Israeli accent.
A graduate of the Thelma Yellin High School of Arts outside Tel Aviv, Sela played in the house bands of Israeli TV shows and toured in Europe, playing jazz festivals and venues. But in the winter of 2010, he relocated to Montreal, bringing with him a personal jazz that draws on Middle Eastern sounds.
Sela, who is in his early 40s, plays Ottawa’s intimate, 46-seat venue GigSpace this Saturday, offering a program of original duo music with Montreal pianist John Roney. Below, he discusses his musical past and present.
Q Tell me about your musical upbringing in Israel.
A Growing up in Israel made me very open-minded musically due to the many cultures that exist there. The Jewish, Middle Eastern and Arab sounds mix with the Yemenite and North African rhythms. There’s also the Russian community and Western influences.
Q What drew you to playing saxophone and to jazz music?
A The saxophone is a wonderful crossover between a modern, lightning fast and relatively controllable instrument with, potentially, the sound qualities of a vocalist. You could get a huge range of sounds out of it, which also make it extremely revealing. Especially on alto sax, due to its neutrality. After playing piano for some years, I found these qualities to be too attractive to resist, and I had to move to the saxophone. Did I mention how beautiful this horn looks?
I turned to jazz for its freedom. I don’t know of any other genre that requires that much knowledge of all aspects of music. In jazz, you’re writing your script as you go, so you’ve got to have a broad understanding of the piece you’re playing, and at the same time, be very alert and live the moment. Jazz is also the only genre I know of which is open that much to influences from other genres. It’s a very undiscriminating medium.
Q Was there ever any question that you would do something other than music as a career?
A Never. I’d also tell students, “If you ever contemplate if you should go to law or music school, you should go to law.” I believe that music chooses you.
Anybody could play music, and everybody should. Being involved with some kind of artistic activity, not necessarily music, nourishes our soul and elevates us from the chores of everyday life. But doing it professionally requires an amount of work and dedication only one without a doubt would put in.
Q How do the sounds of Israel and the Middle East influence the music that you make?
A They’re a big part of my voice, my phrasing, my choice of notes, repertoire, etc. Although I do play straight ahead jazz, blues, rock, classical and many other genres, these Middle Eastern inflections are always ready to burst.
Most of my compositions have Middle Eastern components. It could be in the melody, the rhythms, the chord progressions, the song’s form, or all of these together.
Q Do you feel a bond with other Israeli jazz musicians? Is there an Israeli jazz sound, and if so, what makes it stand out?
A There is an Israeli sound nowadays in jazz and there are currently many Israeli musicians spreading this sound. I do feel connected to some of them. It’s hard to describe what that sound is. It’s like an accent. I guess, having one could sometimes be a plus?
Q What do you think of Montreal?
A Montreal is a very livable, tolerant and beautiful city. It has the advantages of a big city with the calmness of a smaller one. I like that vibe that’s not too hectic and still very vibrant. It’s a pretty rare mix. There’s a great, welcoming, supportive jazz community that I can now say I’m proud to be a part of.
Q How did you come to play with pianist John Roney? What do you value about his playing?
A Just before arriving in Montreal, I checked out some of the city’s prominent musicians that I could find on the Internet. I was very impressed with John’s music. He’s an incredible musician, both as a player and composer. He’s also very versatile. It’s so much fun when you could just “go places” with someone like that in music.
I contacted him a few weeks after my arrival, we met, jammed and the rest is history.
Q Tell me about the program for the concert.
A The River is a new and very exciting project for us. The new, all-original repertoire has a lot of the Middle Eastern and world influences in our attempt to capture the effortless flow of nature. As it’s a duo concert, we are very exposed — every nuance is well heard. The music will be released on a new album in a few months, so stay tuned.