Itaal Shur has written songs for a number of musicians, including Maxwell, Jewel and Enrique Iglesias, and has produced records for various artists, including Kronos Quartet, The Scumfrog and Lucy Woodward.
11 Facts About Itaal Shur
2.
Itaal Shur was the founding member of the acid jazz group Groove Collective, and has released three solo albums.
3.
Itaal Shur was born in Los Angeles, California but was raised in Seattle, Washington and Cincinnati, Ohio.
4.
Itaal Shur's parents are the late Bonia Shur, who was a composer of Israeli and Jewish music and director of Liturgic Arts at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, who had emigrated to the United States from Russia via Israel, and Fanchon Wechsler Shur, born in Chicago, Illinois, a former dancer and a choreographer.
5.
Itaal Shur attended middle school at The School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati.
6.
Itaal Shur graduated from Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, and studied jazz and composition for a year at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.
7.
Itaal Shur moved to New York City in 1992 where, in between doing odd jobs, he played in a Moroccan band and performed at the Knitting Factory, an avant-garde jazz venue.
8.
Itaal Shur began composing songs, and his first hit was "Ascension ", which he co-wrote with Maxwell for Maxwell's 1996 debut album, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite.
9.
When he heard that Santana needed a song for their new album, Itaal Shur composed the song over a weekend.
10.
Itaal Shur produced a number of albums for various artists, including Kronos Quartet, Hinda Hicks, Mark Farina, Lighthouse Family, The Scumfrog and Lucy Woodward.
11.
Itaal Shur has since established his own artist development and production company.