"In that process, I found a lot of what I had been
missing in the practice of the Jewish religion.
Because I express myself as an artist through music
— and there's a spiritual dimension there — the
ability to add a contemporary musical consciousness
to the liturgy makes it far more appealing."
Juber first found the guitar appealing when he was
11. Initially inspired by the pop music in England,
particularly with the songs written and sung by the
Beatles, Juber also developed an appreciation for
musical theater.
"Once I started playing, I didn't want to stop," he
recalls. "By the time I was 13, my goal was to become
a professional musician, and that's what I set out to
do. My initial goal was to become a studio musician,
which is what I succeeded in doing after I [graduated
from] London University, where I studied music."
Before joining Wings, Juber showed his versatility
by playing guitar in musicals such as Jesus Christ
Superstar, in films such as The Spy Who Loved Me
and on recordings by John Williams, The Who's
Roger Daltry and Charles Aznavour.
In 1980, he received a Grammy Award for Best
Rock Instrumental for "Rockestra" from the Wings
album Back to the Egg. After Wings, he associated
with even more recording artists — from Air Supply
to Andy Williams.
"I've always been very eclectic in my musical tastes
and made it my business to be exposed to a lot of
different kinds of music, but I don't seem to be able
to get very far from the Beatles," says Juber. This
%Tuber Unplugged
Guitarist Laurence Juber, a former member of Wings,
brings his talents to a new Chanukah CD.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
L
ents the Ladino "Ocho Kandelikas."
"It's certainly fun to apply a contemporary con-
sciousness to some of these traditional tunes, but I
tend not to think of these as specifically religious as
much as spiritual," says Juber, 48, originally a
London-based musician who moved to Los Angeles
after Wings broke up in 1981.
"My introduction to Jewish music really came
about through my youngest daughter, Ilsey, who's a
drummer. While she was preparing for her bat mitz-
vah, our local temple coincidentally started doing
monthly Friday night services with a band, and they
invited Ilsey and me to play. Once a month, we
would do a complete service set to music.
aurence Juber, playing the guitar, has
expressed himself artistically for a long
time, but recently, he's used music to
intensify his expression of spirituality.
Juber, whose career has ranged from playing in
Paul McCartney's band Wings to performing theme
songs for TV shows such as Boy Meets World, has
been part of three CDs of Jewish music — first
Celebrate Passover, now Celebrate Hanukkah and
soon Celebrate Shabbat.
For the Festival of Lights recording, he combines
rock and folk styles to do a fast-
tempo "Maoz Tzur" ("Rock of
Ages") with Craig Taubman, his
neighbor in California. Taubman
had approached Juber with the idea
for holiday recordings, and the two
improvised until they found the
sounds they liked.
Celebrate Hanukkah grew to fea-
ture 13 holiday songs with multi-
national artists and titles. Peter
Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary
fame, performs his original "Light
One Candle." Debbie Friedman's
Above: Juber's latest recordings include a Chanukah CD
"Not By Might — Not By Power"
was recorded live at Carnegie Hall. and an acoustic tribute to the Beatles.
Top: Laurence Juber: "I express myself as an artist
Flory Jagoda, who grew up in the
Sephardic tradition in Bosnia, pres- through music — and there's a spiritual dimension there."
•ftt,
LAURENCE JUSER S Soto Guitar Arran9ementA of Beane Songs
J14
12/15
2000
84
year, he released a recording of their hits. L./ Plays
The Beatles follows a series of CDs, including Altered
Reality (1999) and Mosaic (1998).
Juber's recent secular recordings are being produced
by his wife, Hope. She is the daughter of TV produc-
er Sherwood Schwartz, the creator of Gilligan's Island
and The Brady Bunch. The Jubers, who also have a
college-age daughter, Nico, have written four chil-
dren's musicals for a Los Angeles theater.
With Hope's father and brother, the couple have
written the score for Gilligan's Island, the Musical, which
will be staged in California next summer. Other cur-
rent Juber projects include writing the guitar music for
a new TV show, Sisters, scheduled to start in January on
NBC, producing music for a new Tokyo theme park
and supporting the release of a Wings anthology video.
"Guitar fans tend to look up to me as being some-
thing of an expert on the instrument, so I do master
classes," says Juber, who has developed a signature
line of guitar strings with a company in Battle Creek.
"I feel I learn at least as much as the students. By
communicating my knowledge, it seems to help me
better understand what I'm doing. I make the videos
as a way of packaging the master class experience."
Through the organization Guitars in the
Classroom, Juber helps provide instruments and
facilitate training for elementary school teachers so
the teachers can bring musical experiences into the
classrooms and inspire kids to learn.
"My feeling is that acoustic guitar, over the last
decade, has been in its golden age," says Juber, who
has a studio in his home. "I want to make sure that
the guitar isn't taken for granted and that we have
new generations of players. I think that music is a
very valuable addition to children's education, and
they don't always get it." ❑