Andrea Superstein’s Tribute to Motherhood with Love

Canada's pop-jazz diva Andrea Superstein's new release, and theatre play, Oh Mother, enters center stage launching with video recordings of mothers reflecting candidly on motherhood. Pop rhythms pulse as jazzy acoustic bass weaves with Superstein's vocal in lush and intricate harmonies.

"I think, just enjoy the moments because they are over so fast... You do not have to be perfect, you just have to be there," reflects an anonymous mother.

Superstein sings soulfully, "This life belongs to you, my heart, this love belongs to you."

"My heart."

Flooring us with sentiments is a common theme through Superstein's theatrical performance of the work, an ode to motherhood's love. "They grow up fast, and life is short."

Fringe Festival favorited-award-winner, Superstein is in finest form in this midpoint of her career. Her voice transcends and soars throughout her intricate vocal work. She is an absolute joy to listen to. The band perfectly complements Superstein's songwriting, and the vocalist's writing is full-on creative as always.

Her vocals are about power. Superstein's control shows her songcrafting with a perfected, flowing mellow timbre, and its smooth sweetness carries you gently along through inspiration. From undulating, energized, in-command scatting to triple-and multi-layered harmonies, Superstein is a musician's composer. She is admired by her peers.

"I Carry Your Heart," features Superstein's daughter's recorded thoughts on love and on being a baby, a little one. "I carry it in my heart," sings Andrea Superstein.

"When I was a spirit, I chose my mom, Super. It's really fun with her. She is the very best. I really love her," proclaims Superstein's daughter. "Your heart is connected to my heart."

And to a caregiver or a mother, pulling on emotions, Superstein creates a meaningful experience infused with the music-box theme message, "I carry your heart with me."

AAJ spoke with Superstein after her Fringe Festival week-long Best of Fringe Festival award-winning summer 2023 run of Oh Mother at Nanaimo's The Port Theatre. AAJ chatted with Superstein about her latest news for a fun and relaxed interview. Her inspirational, new 11-track release of Oh Mother has been making an impact, and the album had been delayed. There is a good chance that the release may become a Polaris Music Prize contender for 2023/24.

Mothers and caregivers held emotions back in the audience with the all-knowing understanding facial expressions, as they reflected, contemplated and related to Superstein's music and one-woman solo thought-provoking theatre-show.

All About Jazz: First, prior to this project what were you doing with your music and career?

Andrea Superstein: I was on the same trajectory as most other jazz vocalists; writing and touring peppered with some teaching to make ends meet. I did my first European tour this year and showcased at jazzahead in Germany.

AAJ: How did you realize these latest creative ideas?

AS: It was a long process that started with some questions. It took me almost four years to just start asking the questions.

AAJ: Like motherhood, this project and its questions was a work that took a process and time to birth. Speak about the idea of your creation and release of, Oh Mother. How did it come to you?

AS: This project has gone through many iterations, but it really started with some fundamental questions that I had when I first became a mother. Mainly, why do I feel so awful? When everyone is telling me this is going to be the best time in my life and I don't feel that, is there something wrong with me? So, I started asking candid questions to mothers to see if this was just my experience, a generational thing or a universal experience that people just don't talk about. I wanted to know what the real stories of motherhood were. Not just the 'oh you'll never sleep again,' but the raw, honest, details about all that comes with being a mother. So many of the songs represent either a collective sentiment or one person's personal story. They are not all my stories although I do connect with many of them.

AAJ: The center focus is upon love and your relationship with your daughter and the varied challenges of motherhood. Take us to that place of motherhood for you.

AS: It's an all-encompassing, never-ending ride. It's both excruciating and joyous and those polarities coexist. In the end, all we have is love. I think that's pretty universal whether we are parents or not.

AAJ: What does the music-box theme throughout your play and recording, 'I carry your heart with me,' mean to you?

AS: It's inspired by the e. e. cummings poem of the same name. It means so many different things. For me personally, it's about that heart connection that I felt having a human grow inside me. But it's also about some mothers who lost young children and a reminder that they are always with us. It's about the intangible connection some mothers yearn for when they become estranged from their children. I guess It's the invisible umbilical cord that we can never ignore.

AAJ: What was your intention in creating, Oh Mother?

AS: It was all very organic but, in the end, I wanted to write music that mattered. Music that gives voice to the under-told stories of parenthood.

AAJ: Talk about the band members and recording the project how did that begin?

AS: Chris Gestrin on keys, Carlie Howell featured on bass, Dan Gaucher on drums. They are all parents and that was important to me, to not just have friends and great musicians on the record but people who could understand firsthand some of the motifs in the compositions. Jane Bunnett arranged and plays on "Mombo." Jane is a kind of mother, too, not in the sense that she has children, but she is a mentor to so many women in the music world. It was a gift to be able to collaborate with her.

AAJ: There were a lot of varied fabulous harmonies on the recording, and it sounded like you were having fun, yet your control is always spot on. Talk about the vocals.

AS: Aw thanks! There was a lot of time between composing and recording, so I really had time to think about how I wanted to deliver the lyrics. Also, because these songs are so personal, it often just flowed out of me without too much thought.

For the songs with voice samples, I had a lot of time alone at my computer during [pandemic] lockdown to cut and paste and play around with my MIDI keyboard. So, for songs like, "So In Love," and, "To All the Mothers," I had a blast just adding and taking away layers in a whimsical way instead of plotting everything out beforehand.

AAJ: The next thing Vancouver Island locals knew after watching your fabulous play, was that you were the favorite of the Fringe Festival in Nanaimo, and the guess is that the play will win many awards going forward. What was your reaction when you heard you had won?

AS: I was just so happy that the show resonated with others. You never know how a new work is going to be received. I'm very grateful.

AAJ: The band did a special performance. Who produced this project? It sounds wonderful.

AS: Thank you! Elizabeth Shepherd is in the producer's chair. I love working with her. In life, you find people who are your kindred spirits and I feel that way about Elizabeth. She understands and embraces what I'm trying to do musically and as a producer has an effortless way of elevating the music. She is a beloved collaborator and friend.

AAJ: That sounds like a very special connection. Elizabeth Shepherd indeed does great work. What are your next plans with this recording and theatre play project going forward?

AS: The album will be released February 9, 2024, on Cellar Live and then we have some tour dates in Canada in the spring of 2024. After that, I think I'd like to continue working on the stage show and see where that takes me.

AAJ: Tell us about your upcoming shows.

AS: We have more dates to announce in a few months, but some highlights are Jazz at the Bolt in Burnaby, Palais Montcalm in Quebec City, The Jazz Room in Kitchener-Waterloo, and Evergreen Theatre in Coquitlam.

AAJ: You know despite this project being delayed many times it was worth the wait. This album is a great contender for the Polaris Music Prize, and likely will surface as JUNO Award-worthy. The production sounds even fresher, they did a great job. How did you do that so well as the project leader? It is in the organized category, too, agreed?

AS: Thank you so much. It is often about bringing the right people to the table and I think that's definitely what happened here.

AAJ: What are your next music moves and projects. Would you consider film, or do you want to stay focused on the theatre world?

AS: I really don't know. I'd like to see where this project leads. Sometimes we don't even know what opportunities exist until they present themselves. I'm staying open.

AAJ: How can we purchase your recording of Oh Mother, is it available yet?

AS: My website will have all the latest news. The album will be released online and in physical form February 9, 2024, [Cellar Live] but there will be a few singles released before then, so be on the lookout.

AAJ: Thanks so much for joining AAJ today, as always, your fine projects are enjoyed very much and we never want to miss them.

AS: Thank you. This project has filled me with joy and inspiration and love every step of the way. I hope listeners love it as much as I do.

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