About

Israeli-born trumpeter/composer Avishai Cohen is an adventurous, forward-thinking musician who has performed in various ensembles touching upon modern creative jazz, post-bop, avant-garde improvisation, and klezmer. Initially emerging as a fiery young lion on the East Coast in the late '90s, Cohen has drawn acclaim for his broad artistry on albums such as his 2003 trio date The Trumpet Player and 2007's expansive After the Big Rain. Since 2016, he has recorded regularly for ECM, moving from the atmospheric lyricism of Into the Silence, Cross My Palm with Silver, and Playing the Room to the psychedelic fusion and funk-influenced sound of Big Vicious. He also leads several other projects, including his Triveni trio, Third World Love with bassist Omer Avital, and the 3 Cohens with his siblings, clarinetist Anat Cohen and saxophonist Yuval Cohen. The wholly improvised and meditative Naked Truth arrived on ECM in 2022, followed by the five-part suite Ashes to Gold in 2024.

In blazing form, the trumpeter from Tel Aviv responds to the turbulent spirit of a troubled time, leading his dedicated band through a five-part suite that runs the gamut of emotions, by turns hopeful, despairing, outraged and profoundly melancholic. The melodic directness of the concluding “The Seventh”, composed by Avishai Cohen’s teenaged daughter Amalia, offers consoling contrast to the suite’s intensity. In between, Cohen turns his attention to the haunting Adagio assai from Ravel’s G major piano concerto, which has long been a highlight of the quartet’s concerts. Ashes to Gold was recorded in November 2023, at Studios La Buissonne, in the South of France. — (via Label)

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Label: ECM Records
Format: Vinyl, LP
Released: 2024
Genre: Jazz
Style: Avant Garde, Fusion, Contemporary Jazz

File under: ECM Records
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