Tal Gur
Tal Gur
Tal Gur’s musical identity emerged while watching and listening to aircrafts take off and land at the air force base where he grew up. Located in the heart of the pastoral fields of Jezreel Valley in Israel, Gur began his musical journey where many reed players do, by playing the recorder, and probably the aspects of exhaling/creating sound, combined with the music he heard at home pulled him toward the saxophone. After moving out to a small town nearby, he began playing the saxophone. Over time Gur was drawn strongly to the world of improvisation, free expression and poetry. Gradually he taught himself to play the piano, guitar, bass, drums and started to write and compose songs. After military service, he studied sound techniques in Tel-Aviv and later on moved to Jerusalem to study at the music academy.
Over time Gur developed an identity as a soloist that fluidly plays different styles of jazz, folk, rock and balkan music. Gur has performed on many stages in Israel, Europe and the United States with groups such as: MarshDondurma (Tel-Aviv jazz festival 2008, Israel Festival 2008, Rijeka jazz festival in Croatia, 2008, The international jazz festival Eilat 2010), Judy Lewis quartet (three residencies at the Pizza Express jazz club, Soho, London 2004-2005, Tel-Aviv jazz festival 2006), What Cheer? Brigade (Newport folk festival 2011).
Gur has taken part in several album productions, theater and festivals with Israeli artists such as: Shlomo Gronich, Shlomo Yidov, Alon Oleartchic, Dan Toren, Shaanan Street, Efrat Gosh to name a few. During these years he kept searching for a personal style as a composer and in 2007 he released his first album, “air portrait” , which is an instrumental music journey in landscapes of memories, a working through model that seeks for mental insights. The ongoing urge to understand the inner world and the connection to music, combined with the urge to assist people who are in need of support, brought Gur to pursue a Master’s degree in music therapy. In 2010, he relocated to the United States, expanding his journey as a musician and as a music therapist. Since then he has released a second album, Basar Ve’Dam (Flesh & Blood), which includes Hebrew poet’s songs that deal with existential themes. In 2012, Gur completed his post graduate training in music therapy at NYU. He now resided in NYC, working as a music therapist and making music with various bands. Gur’s third album,“Under Contractions” , is a modern creative jazz album which summarizes and documents an ongoing search for inspiration, combined with reconstructing meaningful events that Gur has experienced in life, such as the birth of his first child and dealing with the Israeli-Arab conflict. Gur’s newest work “mind crossing” is a multidisciplinary project that combines music, video, text and dance. It is based on a collection of letters that Gur’s grandfather wrote after the holocaust, telling the story of a reconstruction of life and relationships.
