FEATURING: AVISHAI COHEN (trumpet), ANAT COHEN (tenor saxophone & clarinet), YUVAL COHEN (soprano saxophone), w/Aaron Goldberg (piano), Matt Penman (bass), Gregory Hutchinson (drums) & very special guest Jon Hendricks (vocals)
The 3 Cohens Celebrate the Release of Family:
November 1-6: The Village Vanguard, NYC
November 10 - Scullers, Boston, MA
November 11th - Rockport Music Hall, Rockport, MA
November 12th – Koerner Hall, Toronto
(Double bill w/The Jamey Haddad Arab Jazz Ensemble)
“Rarely in the history of jazz family bands have siblings so successfully created a unified group sound with as distinctive an identity as the Israel-born Cohens.” – DownBeat Magazine
“some of the hottest properties on the New York jazz scene today” – The Boston Globe
“There’s such a thing as a family sound, and the musicians calling themselves the 3 Cohens have it . . . Anat has emerged as one of the best clarinet players in jazz, with a warm and singing tone; Avishai can play bebop and ballad lines and outer-limits trumpet sounds with tireless fluency; Yuval has a full and relaxed sound on the soprano.” – Ben Ratliff, The New York Times
“ . . . when the 3 Cohens call a disc ‘Braid,’ they’re not kidding, so intricate and intuitively apt is the counterpoint and voice leading when they’re playing together or off each other.” “ . . . if there’s any group that illustrates how profoundly and effortlessly international jazz has become in the new millennium, it’s this one.” – Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News
“Whether soaring on a flight through "Freedom" or conversing polyphonically over a 6/8 groove on ‘Navad (The Wanderer),’ the sibling stitchers of brightly textured voicings tailor a forever-in-fashion musical coat of many colors.” – Owen McNally, The Hartford Courant
“a brilliant wave of Israeli jazz musicians has emerged on the New York scene. At the center of this surge are three siblings: soprano saxophonist Yuval, trumpeter Avishai and reed player Anat Cohen . . . Like many of their Israeli peers, the Cohen siblings are steeped in jazz history and intensely engaged with a global array of sounds.” – Andy Gilbert, The San Jose Mercury News
The 3 Cohens’ new recording is a powerful acknowledgement of the importance of Family. Although Yuval, Anat and Avishai are perennially busy with numerous projects that make up their individual careers, the remarkable story of the 3 Cohens continues with the release of their new recording, Family (the follow up to the much-lauded Braid), available on Anzic Records on October 11, 2011. Joining Yuval, Anat and Avishai on Family is a trio of unparalleled musicians, Aaron Goldberg on piano, Matt Penman on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums. Plus, very special guest, Jon Hendricks, delivering his singular style to “On The Sunny Side of Street”, and “Roll ‘Em Pete”.
The virtuosity and creativity of each of the Cohens serves the music well, of course, but the real treat on this album are the incredibly joyous conversations and interactions that could only sprout from their mutual respect and love for one another. The 3 Cohens’ childhood was very different from the usual stories. They shared a special love for music; it was what solidified their unique relationship and allowed them to experience a childhood that most siblings aren’t privy to. “Through music, we share an emotional and spiritual connection that goes beyond our familial ties. It is beyond words and the imagination,” explained Anat.
When the 3 Cohens converged in the studio for the recording of Family, they did so with a fervent dedication to making music together, and a strong desire to celebrate life and family through their music. They explain, “every time we play again it is so special. For us, sharing a stage is not just three siblings who play together; it is also a constant reminder of the gift of life. That's why we have decided to have this band.” The results are two brilliant recordings, One, and Braid, and now their newest, and perhaps their greatest work together, the celebratory, Family (on Anzic Records, October 11, 2011).
More on 3 Cohens:
In the past few Years the 3 Cohens sextet performed in many notables venues such as the prestigious Village Vanguard, the Paris hotspot, “Duc Des Lombards”, & theaters, jazz clubs and festivals around Italy, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Australia and the US (Portland Jazz Festival, JVC and more).
In August of 2011, Avishai played his own set at the Newport Jazz Festival to an enthusiastic audience (available on NPR at www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139066357/newport-jazz-2011-avishai-cohens-triveni-with-anat-cohen-live-in-concert), is touring the world with the SF Jazz Collective, and has released numerous recordings: The Trumpet Player, After the Big Rain, Flood, Seven, and the most recent, the critically-acclaimed, Introducing Triveni. Introducing Triveni Part II will be released on Anzic Records in 2012. Avishai was one of the finalist in the 2011 DownBeat Critic’s poll in both the “Rising Star-Jazz Artist” and “Rising Star-Trumpet” categories.
In 2011 Anat won “clarinetist of the year” for the 5th consecutive year at the Jazz Journalist Awards and is the winner of this year’s DownBeat Critics Poll for “Clarinetist of the Year” and “Rising Star-Soprano” categories. Anat has been touring extensively around the world with her quartet and has played in venues such as: The Village Vanguard (where she recorded her 5th album, Clarinetwork Live at the Village Vanguard, on Anzic Records), the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival, SF Jazz Festival, North Sea, and more.
Yuval is releasing his 2nd album, Song Without Words, on the same day as the 3 Cohens Family album, October 11, 2011. It is a duo album with pianist Shai Maestro. Yuval is an active performer and one of the most sought after educators in Israel. He recently won Israel’s most prestigious honor, the Landau Award, for outstanding achievement in the field of jazz.
The 3 Cohens on the music:
“Blues for Dandi’s Orange Bull Chasing an Orange Sack”, Yuval Cohen: A tune I wrote based on a drawing by my daughter. She drew 2 orange objects, which we ended up naming a bull chasing a sack. The tune has some grain of the Mingus-Richmond tradition, also the title, as well as the orange theme.
“Rhapsody in Blake”, Yuval Cohen: A tune I wrote while attending Berklee, based on “I Hear a rhapsody” changes. I forgot about it, until Anat and Avishai played it in a show after I was already back in Israel. After playing it with the great drummer Johnathan Blake the tune got it’s new title, “Rhapsody in Blake”.
“Family”, Avishai Cohen: I wrote this thinking of my brother and sister and the way we play together. The melody is one, but it moves between the horns organically, starting with the tenor, moving to soprano, then to the trumpet. I have recorded this tune also with the SFJazz Collective for our 2011 CD set (using 4 horns instead of 3) but the 3 Cohens are the inspiration. Naming it “Family” was the obvious choice.
“Shufla Deshufla”, Avishai Cohen: Shufra Deshufra in Aramaic (ancient language of the middle east) means “the best of the best”. Since the tune is in shuffle mode, I used the name as a paraphrase. I wanted to write a bouncy, “feel-good” tune, realizing there’s not too many modern shuffle tunes out there. Keeping it old school, with a chorus each to blow, rather than an extended blowing form. This is the way we play it live as well.
With The Soul of The Greatest of Them All, Avishai Cohen: I was hanging out in south of France at my friend (pianist) Yonathan Avishai’s place. I ended up sitting on the piano and for couple of days couldn’t let go of that original vamp of this tune. Right away it felt very “Mingusy” so when I added a melody to it instead of avoiding ‘copying’ from Mingus I decided to make it a tribute tune. Hence the middle section that goes to a ballad feel and grows back to the swing feel, and the harmony that leads back to the vamp at the end, very typical for Mingus. He was always one of my favorite bass players and as a composer he also has a big influence on me. In the past few years I’ve been playing with the Mingus Big Band, Mingus Orchestra and recently also with the Mingus Dynasty, so my exposure to his music grew even more.
And on the Louis Armstrong connection: The idea of recording with the great Jon Hendricks came to us after we met him in Brazil in September 2010. The 3 Cohens were invited to participate in the “Tudo e Jazz” festival in Ouro Preto. The theme for the festival was Louis Armstrong. Louis is a major inspiration for the 3 of us - we love Louis! We had previously performed a "Tribute to Louis Armstrong" program in Caesarea, Israel, so we were thrilled this time to give Louis's music a new interpretation which we ended up recording on this album: On “Do You know What it Means to Miss New Orleans, Yuval, “wanted to give the song a new vibe and colors, yet be respectful to the song and its strong heritage”; Anat explains her take on “Tiger Rag”, “I tried to give this much played song some new, fun, world elements like Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Calypso, and of course, some swing”. Jon Hendricks, who was participating in the same festival, heard us during sound check and with mutual enthusiasm we decided to have him sit in with us that night. He sang “On The Sunny Side of The Street” and “Roll ‘Em Pete”. The connection felt magical and thus came the idea of recording together. (The two songs Jon sang with us in Brazil appear on the album).
For more information: www.3cohens.com & www.anzicrecords.com
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