The Avishai Cohen Quartet played music from their most recent LP Into The Silence at New York City’s Jazz Standard last night. The supper club was treated to modal jazz tunes that are mindfully abstract in composition, but beautifully communicated via the Quartet. ECM released the record in February of this year, amidst the heart of winter’s cold, a fitting time for such an attentive project.
Cohen, who was born in Tel-Aviv, is younger than maybe your average Jazz Standard bandleader, but his charisma and control showcase how he’s gotten there. At many points throughout the night, he quiets bassist Tal Mashiach and drummer Justin Brown to make way for pianist Jason Lindner’s delicate playing. Cohen is seen meditating to Lindner’s soft speaking, which at one point is given a haunting vibe by palm muting the piano’s strings.
The group mowed through the majority of Into The Silence, starting with “Behind The Broken Glass” and moving backwards to the epic album opener “Life And Death.” They skipped just one, the 15-minute “Dream Like A Child.” The six-track, ~hour-long double LP was written entirely by Cohen, who has eight releases to his name, but this is his first with ECM Records. Given its quality, hopefully it will not be his last.
Jazz Times is quoted saying, “Cohen is a multicultural jazz musician, among whose ancestors is Miles Davis. Like Davis, he can make the trumpet a vehicle for uttering the most poignant human cries.” While Davis is the obvious reference point for a press outlet to make to any trumpet player, I believe that both players possess(ed) a natural ability to filter their emotions through their horn using a minimalistic approach. At multiple points throughout the night, Cohen is seen on the cusp of playing, only to retract to let Lindner, or one of the others, take the lead.
Cohen and his Quartet are on tour in support of Into The Silence. They’ll play Jazz Standard again tonight, April 27, with tour dates around the country to follow. Check them out in a city near you…
04.28 – Cambridge, MA @ The Regattabar Tix: tinyurl.com/zugrl94
04.29 – Chicago, IL @ Constellation Chicago Tix: tinyurl.com/zvgz7r8
04.30 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Back Room @ Colectivo Coffee Tix: tinyurl.com/jtjlgnu
05.02 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Kuumbwa Jazz Tix: tinyurl.com/jdofmq6
05.03 – Los Angeles, CA @ blue whale Tix: tinyurl.com/zkmju97
05.04 – Oakland, CA @ Yoshi’s Oakland Tix: tinyurl.com/jf83adp
05.05 – Portland, OR @ Jimmy Mak’s Tix: tinyurl.com/hy8j5pz
05.06 – Monmouth, OR @ Smith Fine Arts Series Tix: tinyurl.com/gwrtgwd
05.07 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Chutzpah! Festival & The Norman Rothstein Theatre Tix: tinyurl.com/jszyfxc
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