Child's play: children's troubadour Raffi knows that having fun can be hard work

Performing Arts & Entertainment in Canada, Autumn, 2002 by Kennedy Goodkey

TALKING WITH RAFFI CAVOUKIAN, BETTER KNOWN TO THE WORLD AS JUST "RAFFI," IT IS HART) NOT TO BE CHARMED BY THE DICHOTOMY OF HIS GENTLE WISDOM colliding head on with infectious laughter. A lot of laughter.

It might seem incongruous that the champion of many sober causes sweeping from children's rights to environmental awareness would find so much opportunity for glee, but he does and it's a beautiful thing. It must be something that has developed during half a lifetime of entertaining children. Or it could be why he has been successful at it.

For twenty-five years parents have been happy to bring their children to see Raffi. And of course, he has built a career around delighting and connecting with children, but according to the 54-year-old prince of children's troubadours there has been a recent change in the specific nature of his audience demographic.

"Parents are delighted to share with their children," Raffi says of this new breed of parent -- adults who were Raffi fans when they were kids, now sharing with their children the Raffi experience that they once had.

"It's been happening for about three years now; I expect I'm going to start seeing more of it this next time out," he says.

Raffi began a tour of Canada and the U.S. in Victoria, British Columbia on September 15, performing songs from his new CD Let's Play! The new recording is not simply a new album; it is a reflection of Raffi's own philosophy. In his liner notes he quotes Maria Montessori, "play is the child's work," and he expands upon that by adding, "children are 100 percent employed, all the time.

"My music is grounded in respect for the child as a whole person. Children try the world on for size through play. They learn through play and by pretending," he adds.

If play is the child's work, then Let's Play! is an invitation to children of all ages to get some very creative work done. It is a mature recording in the sense that it doesn't sound like a typical children's album. It has a musical depth that in Raffi's words is "pleasant to both the young and older ear.

"Every artist's music evolves. I don't have to restrict myself. I can play simplicity for all the complexity in the world," he laughs. "There is no reason I can't have fun."

Indeed he does and always has.

"Take 'Baby Beluga' for example. It's a simple love song for a beautiful creature, but then out of whimsy, suddenly there's a Dixie band in it." The idea still makes Raffi laugh 22 years after recording it.

The scope of his musical influence continues to expand. The title track of Let Play! tips the hat both musically and lyrically to Gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. The song opens "Let's play, come on/On this jazzy Django day," a sentiment that is reflected in the frolicking guitar, mandolin and clarinet that sport with each other throughout.

Through the past quarter century Raffi's musical journey has made stops at polka, jug-band, reggae and too many other ethnic musical styles to mention from around the world.

Among Raffi's myriad influences are four mop-topped lads out of Liverpool. "I've always had a great affection for the Beatles' music," he says. "Yellow Submarine" makes a perfect fit on Let's Play! Its presence suggests that the song might always have been intended for the same audience as "Eensy Weensy Spider," the traditional children's song that follows it.

"We got Natalie MacMaster to play fiddle on that track. She was a joy," Raffi laughs. "From there it only seemed natural to take it in a Celtic direction."

MacMaster is the latest of notable guest musicians to play on a Raffi album. Past contributors represent a rogue's gallery of largely - but not exclusively - Canadian luminaries, including a then-unknown Daniel Lanois, who produced Raffi's earliest albums. Fellow environmental champion Bruce Cockburn added flourish to tracks on the seminal Baby Beluga album; The Canadian Brass appropriately graced Raffi's Christmas Album.

Appearances in Raffi songs have not always been musical in the purest sense either. "Baby Beluga" featured the titular beluga and on "Jane Jane" from Let Play! a tribute to Dr. Jane Goodall features Dr. Goodall herself adding a host of chimpanzee calls to the romp.

Raffi has always marked his albums with songs that reach out to children at different levels of maturity. Perhaps this is part of his enduring appeal. Many Raffi songs address specific issues that are concerns of adults, but couched on a level that speaks to children. "Jane Jane" is a fun song to sing. Like "Baby Beluga" it has an appeal that is basic to all children. Monkeys are fun and a bit silly; babies (belugas or of any species) appeal to children on a visceral level.

"For three-year-olds, loving the beluga was the key as far as I was concerned, a seed that could grow with time," he says. And the seed does grow.

"The song becomes a doorway to explore," he says. Children grow and their awareness expands. Perhaps they see other children in less developed and wartorn countries and recall Raffi's words from "All I Really Need": "All I really need is a song in my heart/Food in my belly and love in my family."