I don't think my mother knew that I could sing...
| Published date | 05 April 2024 |
| Publication title | Evening Chronicle |
After her acclaimed run, Barbra gave birth that year in New York.
Jason grew up immersed in the arts, as his mother continued to record dozens of albums and star in a plethora of film and TV projects, while his father, actor Elliott Gould, appeared in everything from 1970s dark comedy M*A*S*H to classic US sitcom Friends.
Jason followed in their footsteps, with his first role alongside his mother in the 1972 film Up The Sandbox, before attending acting school.
After years on the silver screen, in films including Say Anything, Listen To Me and The Prince of Tides, he only began branching out into music later in life.
"I never thought I would sing in front of anybody up until I was probably in my early 40s," Jason, 57, tells me over a Zoom call from Los Angeles. "I always felt this impulse to make music, but I didn't really know how to do it.
"So I started to study songwriting. I wanted to also try singing songs I hadn't written, and I came across How Deep Is The Ocean. It was the first song I ever recorded that I didn't write.
"And so I shared it with my mother - it was scary. I don't think she knew that I could sing."
After hearing Jason, Barbra wanted to collaborate with him on the cover, and when her next tour rolled around in 2012, she asked him to join her. "I had never sung in front of anybody so it was an incredibly daunting task to go from nothing to a stadium of 18,000 people," he admits.
While combating nerves and navigating the whirlwind of touring North America and Europe with his mother, Jason notes that singing with her was a "very personal and beautiful moment for us. Because when I was singing with her, it was just about me and her, the audience happened to witness it, but it was just about me and her".
The song helped amplify Jason's name within the music world, as it was released on Barbra's 34th studio album Partners, in 2014, which also featured duets from music titans including Billy Joel, John Legend and Stevie Wonder.
The record later went to number one in the US and was nominated for a Grammy.
While he feels his love of music and creative expression is embedded "in my DNA", Jason admits he was afraid to sing for many years because of his mother's legacy.
"I was so intimidated by it, I think," he reflects. "She's such a great...
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