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March 21, 2008
A performer and a teacher
The Saul Berson Quartet has recently released its third CD.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
He's a veritable fixture of the Vancouver Jewish community, and yet, the Independent has never "sat down" and chatted with musician Saul Berson. We rectified this oversight recently, via e-mail, talking with Berson about the Saul Berson Quartet's recently released CD Intricacy, as well as his own path to becoming a renowned saxophone player and an accomplished composer.
"I have been playing the saxophone since I was 10 years old," said Berson, who also plays the clarinet, flute and piano. "Had I had my way, I would have started playing it when I was seven because I was very drawn to the complex appearance of the instrument at that early age."
While mainly a sax player now, Berson said he often picks up the clarinet and flute when performing with local group Tzimmes. "There is, of course, that inescapable connection between klezmer and the clarinet," he explained.
In addition to the Saul Berson Quartet and Tzimmes, Berson is a member of the Dal Richards Orchestra, NOW Orchestra, Hard Rubber Orchestra and Music for a New World Orchestra. If that weren't enough, he also freelances quite a bit.
"There are many gigs where I don a tux or suit and tie and play at a convention or other corporate event," he said. "I do these gigs either with my own trio or as part of someone else's band. I have worked in the past with most of the musicians calling me up for gigs and am usually happy to do so again.
"There has been the very odd occasion where I was warned ahead of time by the band leader that we would be playing for a certain political party or corporation and would I have any philosophical problems with that. It has happened once or twice where I turned down the gig."
Berson also finds time to teach music.
"I have [sax, clarinet and flute] students between the ages of six and 60," he said. "I teach privately as well as work as a clinician in various schools around the city. The median age would be about 14. What are some of the aspects that I enjoy about it?
"One, I really enjoy introducing beginners to their instruments, watching them improve and to see them have fun in the process.
"Two, many of the students that come to me have not ever had a private lesson before. I can often make suggestions that will improve their abilities and enjoyment of playing, which makes everybody happy in the process.
"Three, I get the chance to play all sorts of music that my students bring in, whether from their schools or other songs that they have heard on the radio or in a movie, that they want to learn how to play."
That eclectic taste comes through in all of Berson's work, including Intricacy, which evokes the Middle East and Canada in the song "Cairo & Main," for example, Europe in "Allure" and North America in "Middle Class," among other places and feelings.
"I've always had an interest in music from the Middle East and Far East," Berson told the Independent. "My mother was born and raised in Calcutta (India) and maybe that has something to do with my attraction to sitars, sarods and tablas.
"I also lived and performed in Israel, from 1982-'85. I do believe that this had some sort of effect on my musical outlook."
Berson said that one of his biggest influences was saxophonist Phil Woods, who is now 77 years old. "His huge warm sound and technical command is often in the back of my mind.
"I am very drawn to the compositional work of the great Argentinian bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla. When I listen to the beauty and the different layers of his music, I am truly in awe as well as inspired," he continued, adding that, "There are so many amazing musicians who I like to listen to. I could list many of the so-called jazz greats, like Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker ... and that list is a long one to be sure.
"We are lucky here in Vancouver, because there are many fine musicians that live and perform here," he said. "Add to this the many visiting bands that come through town on tour and you could find something really good to go hear on any night of the week throughout the year."
And one of those bands is the Saul Berson Quartet, which was started in 1998 and has three CDs: From Here to Beyond (1998), Not Here, Not Now (2002) and, of course, Intricacy (2007). In the group, Berson is joined by Kim Darwin (accordion and piano), Tony Wilson (guitar) and Paul Blaney (acoustic bass); and they are sometimes joined by musician Boris Sichon.
For Intricacy, Berson wrote six of the nine songs. When asked about his creative process, Berson said, "With regards to composing, sometimes I will hear a song in my head before I write it down. At other times, the music can flow painstakingly slowly, one bar at a time.
"Playing a solo, on the other hand, is a totally spontaneous act. This spur-of-the-moment creation is one of the trademarks of jazz. What comes out of my instrument is strongly connected to my state of mind at that moment. It's a snapshot in time."
Berson said that he has been composing his own songs since the mid-1990s, explaining that, "I reached a point in my life where I felt the need to compose, perform and record my own songs. I find it really enjoyable and fulfilling to sit down at the piano or with the saxophone and allow the 'creative juices' to flow and to get it onto paper. It can be even more satisfying to later perform and record it as well.
"The vast majority of what I play and compose is influenced by jazz," he continued, but "there are other elements of music outside of that catch-all term, jazz, that come into play for me."
An article in the Georgia Straight described Berson's compositions as being written in "a post-bop style with global flavors."
"Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody," explained Berson. "It was developed in the early and mid-1940s and introduced to the world by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. The bebop 'vocabulary' still remains a significant part of the make up of many jazz musicians."
Berson described the quartet's music as "an eclectic mix of jazz," adding a partial description from Cadence magazine: "music that creates an intense set of Arabian rhythms and ... is a delirious mess of tango and klezmer."
While Berson may use other people's words to describe his music, he said that, "As far as the writing of the melodies is concerned, I have not really collaborated much. But sometimes I hear complex harmonies in my head that might enhance a piece of music that I have written. If I am not able to figure them out by myself, then collaboration or advice from a chord-playing instrumentalist (i.e., piano or guitar player) is helpful."
He also happily collaborates with his family on the finished products. His 10-year-old daughter, Talia, did the artwork on the cover of Intricacy, while his older daughter, Ayli, painted the cover art on From Here to Beyond, when she was just eight years old. The photography, layout and design on Intricacy are by Berson's brother, Joshua.
Where to hear Berson
All of Saul Berson's CDs are available online at cdbaby.com. The most recent quartet recording, Intricacy, is available in Vancouver at Zulu Records on West 4th Avenue and at High Life Records on Commercial Drive. As far as upcoming public performances, at press time Berson was scheduled to perform with:
• Saul Berson Trio, April 3-5, at O'Doul's Bar and Restaurant,
• Music for a New World, April 20, at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver,
• Hard Rubber Orchestra, May 11, at the Wise Hall,
• Dal Richards Orchestra, June 21, Gastown, 1-2 p.m., as part of the TD Canada Vancouver International Jazz Festival and
• Saul Berson Quartet, June 28, 8 p.m., Ironworks, as part of the
jazz festival.
More information will soon be available on Berson's website, which is currently under construction.
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