Efrat Alony is a singer, composer, bandleader and winner of Best Foreign Artist for the first Artemis Women Powered Music Competition 2019.
Born in Israel and serving in the Israeli army, doing her military service as a social worker, Efrat studied composition, arranging, jazz, and classical singing. In Israel, she attended Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, Berklee School of Music in Boston, and finally College of Music “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin. She studied with Joe Lovano, Bob Brookmeyer, and Steve Gray. She then worked as a guest vocalist and composer, and had appearances in Germany and Amsterdam with the Jazz Orchestra of the Conceretgebouw. The highly educated Efrat continues to perform, teach jazz vocals at the Hochschule der Künste in Bern. As the founder of the Efrat Alony Quartet, she has toured Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Slovenia, as well as individual engagements in other countries. In 2006, Alony was awarded the Jazz Performance Award of Karl-Hofer-Gesellschaft Berlin; in 2008 the Jazz Conveyer Prize of the Berlin Senate. In 2009 she was awarded the International Jazz of the Nüremberger Nachiricten, and in 2014, the Music Author Award of the GEMA Foundation in the jazz category.
At the time of this interview, Efrat Alony had been named a finalist in the Artemis Women In Action Film Festival’s first music competition for women. Alony with her song “Hear Me” won Best Foreign Artist. As I sit here listening to her music . . . currently “Reminiscence” on Youtube’s Top Tracks – Alony, I hear her very defined style infiltrating each offering. She is solid in her vocalization and arrangements, which happen to encompass a subtle jazz flair. Her languid vocals are complemented by her very profound lyrics. I went from “We Sail Away,” “To a Child Dancing in the Wind,” and others. One must take note of Efrat Alony’s visual style as well. Her look through the years has evolved, exposing her chameleon-like trait to adapt and change. Her look reminds me of a young Barbra Streisand. One thing the two singers have in common is the fashion in which they emote, taking their audience on a magical, melodic journey.
“It’s almost silly how sometimes we need someone from the outside to help us see who we are.” – Efrat Alony
Interview by Kaylene Peoples
Responses by Efrat Alony
Kaylene Peoples: Efrat, tell me about your background and why you decided to do music?
Efrat Alony: I’m an Israeli singer and composer. I’ve been living in Berlin, Germany for the past 20 years. (Life seems to take unexpected turns…) I was singing and performing from a young age and then discovered jazz when I was studying in Israel at the Rimon college of contemporary music – I fell in love with some of the concepts within jazz music: the freedom, the improvisation, the innovation, the courage to think outside the box (I hate boxes) and turn everything on its head, being influenced by different, sometimes even contrasting genres.
I’ve been picking and choosing ever since, mixing different musical styles and (hopefully) making it into my own special blend of Israeli music, jazz, classical, electronics, and pop.
Kaylene: Who are your musical influences and why?
Efrat: People influence me. I was very fortunate to be mentored by Bob Brookmeyer and by Steve Gray—both stellar musicians, composers, arrangers. Bob was of course also an amazing trombonist. They both believed in my music. Through their eyes, I could see it was unique, that I had something to say that was only mine. It gave me the courage to keep pursuing it. It’s almost silly how sometimes we need someone from the outside to help us see who we are.
As far as musical influences go, I would call it inspirations instead of influences. Sometimes it’s the intensity or a musical idea that captures me. [Some of Efrat’s inspirations.]
Avro Pärt, Steve Reich, Ravel, Bartók, Wagner, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, Björk, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Nathalie Stutzmann, Radiohead, Cassandra Wilson, Me’Shell Ndegéocello, Sarah Vaughan, John Coltrane, Sidsel Endresen
Kaylene: How long have you been doing music professionally? I’d love to hear about your band.
Efrat: I’ve been pursuing music professional for over 20 years. I’ve been working as a band leader: https://dismantling.alony.de/en/dismantling-dreams.html; https://alw.alony.de/en/alony-leicht-wingold.html; https://handel.alony.de/en/haendel-fast-forward.html; https://alony.de/en/news.html)
As featured soloist on different projects, here are a few: https://alony.de/en/band/efrat-alony-with-big-band.html and https://martinstreule.ch/en/jazz-orchestra/#chambersongs
Kaylene: Regarding “Hear Me,” the song you entered in the competition, why did you choose that particular piece? Tell me about your process to complete it. For example, how was it recorded, who are your musicians, etc. Was the song released?
Efrat: While composing, I let myself be guided by stories and pictures, mini film scenes with specific colors, characters, and moods that I translate into music – I felt “Hear Me” would show how my music could fit into a cinematic setting. It’s emotional yet still abstract enough for the listeners to put their own thoughts & fantasy into it, or for the filmmaker to adapt it into an existing scene.
Kaylene: In this tricky music industry, it can be challenging for an artist/songwriter/band to navigate. What methods do you use to get your music heard? Are you on any social networking platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook?
Efrat: Yes. It is challenging! It sometimes feels like having gotten really far, and then starting all over anew . . . again! Especially because I like challenging myself, I end up trying new musical material with every new project that I do. This seems to irritate some music journalists. Some would [prefer I repeat the same style]. My only strategy so far was to KEEP AT IT and trust my instincts, sometimes a harder task than one would think. I Keep reminding myself why I chose to become a musician in the first place: because I love it, because it moves me! I try and keep these thoughts at the center of my work- and not the business side of things. I grew up believing that the “good will prevail.” I realize now, it’s not that simple. Sometimes reality is as far away from it, as it could possibly be. But I still want to believe.
I’ve been VERY bad with social media. Maybe it’s time to change that.
Kaylene: Where can people purchase your music?
On iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, or directly through me: efrat@alony.de
Kaylene: What would you say is your highest high in your career?
Efrat: There were a few occasions in my career I thought, “Wow! That’s it— life changing, the highest high, my goal achievement,” only to realize the next day that it was just another day and life goes on. I’m still me with the people that surround me (so I better like them Efrat smiles) and it’s back to the drawing board, writing, singing, performing, the work.
So I would think of it more as a timeline of patience and trust (in whatever does the trick for you) and less as peaks of success, because they come and go in wave—at least in my experience.
Kaylene: What advice would you give to a young artist today who is just entering the music industry?
My advice would be: “ If there is ANYTHING else that you could imagine doing that could make you happy, do that! Being a musician is a tough choice. BUT if music is IT for you, then do it all the way. Trust it and trust yourself. Challenge yourself and challenge the musicians around you. Work! Work! Work! Bob Brookmeyer once told me a great sentence that put things in perspective for me. “No one will pay you to live out your dream . . . it’s YOUR dream.” That’s so true. I try to make myself happy with the music I make. If I manage to touch others with it, it’s a win-win.
Here the the award-winning song “Here Me.” Artemis Women Powered Music 2019 sponsored by Bella Composers.
Visit: http://www.artemisfilmfestival.com to enter the women’s music competition!