Avishai Cohen : Jazz : Trumpet : New York City

Avishai Cohen Bio

Avishai Cohen is a leading figure on the international jazz scene and one of the most sought-after players of his generation — “an assertive and accomplished trumpeter with a taste for modernism,” according to Nate Chinen of The New York Times. Though deeply rooted in the bebop and post-bop tradition, Avishai is taking jazz in new directions, making waves as an improviser, composer and bandleader. Originally from Tel Aviv, he began performing at age 10. He toured the world with the Young Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and went on to become the trumpet player of choice for many leading jazz, rock, pop, studio and television projects. He received a full scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and in 1997 he placed third in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition.

Avishai came of age as part of the fertile scene at Smalls, the storied New York jazz club, where he developed his artistic vision alongside such friends and colleagues as pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Omer Avital and vocalist Claudia Acuña. Here the imperatives of jazz tradition and innovation were not in conflict, but rather merged into one powerful creative stream. Avishai flourished in an environment where hard-driving swing, open-ended funk, Latin and Middle Eastern rhythms, complex extended forms and free improvisation converged under one roof, drawing enthusiastic audiences. All of Avishai’s diverse work, as a leader, co-leader and sideman, is informed by this broad-minded legacy, which has given jazz new vitality and relevance in the 21st century.

Avishai made his debut as a leader in 2003 with The Trumpet Player, a burning straightahead session with bassist John Sullivan (Roy Haynes), drummer Jeff Ballard (Chick Corea, Pat Metheny) and special guest Joel Frahm on tenor. His second album, After the Big Rain, is the last part of “The Big Rain Trilogy,” a series of recordings that is now nearing completion. The trilogy also includes Before the Big Rain (part one), a large-group outing, and The Big Rain (part two), a trio encounter with Yonatan Avishai on piano and Daniel Freedman on percussion. Avishai’s music is alternately moody and joyous, richly atmospheric yet beat-driven and grooving, suffused with compositional depth, inspired improvisation and a profound world-music influence. Avishai plays open and muted trumpet but also routes his horn through electronic effects that range from the dreamy to the snarling and distorted. He’s been developing these sounds over the course of the last decade. “When I play effects, I play a different instrument,” he says. “The whole concept changes.”

Avishai’s other credits range from touring with the celebrated French-American singer-songwriter Keren Ann, to sharing the stage with the great Bobby Hutcherson in the all-star San Francisco Jazz Collective. In addition, Avishai is the co-leader of Third World Love, with Omer Avital, drummer Daniel Freedman and pianist Yonatan Avishai, a group with four recordings to its credit. He also leads a funk-oriented band with bassist Me’shell Ndegeocello and drummer Adam Deitch, and continues to perform extensively with the 3 Cohens, which he formed with his sister Anat and brother Yuval, both gifted reeds players. With his incredible instrumental skill and world-spanning musical interests, Avishai, in the words of critic Ben Ratliff, “has all the power and tenacity he’s going to need.

about TRIVENI:
TRIVENI, a Sanskrit word meaning "the place where three sacred rivers meet", is trumpeter Avishai Cohen's new trumpet/bass/drums trio. Continuing long-standing tradition of jazz trios without a harmonic/chordal instrument into the world of today, TRIVENI runs freely in the realms of hard-bop, straight-up funk, with a bit of avant-garde thrown into the mix. After leading a similarly-configured trio on his debut CD The Trumpet Player (FreshSound New Talent), Avishai has since explored the sounds and structures of African music with Lionel Loueke (featured in Avishai's latest, acclaimed release After The Big Rain, Anzic Records)), funk (with Me'shell Ndegeocello), folk/pop (with Keren Ann) and modern jazz (playing with Joshua Redman and Bobby Hutcherson of the San Francisco Jazz Collective). Now Avishai presents the new sound of TRIVENI.

**** “Although After the Big Rain marks the end of his ambitious
trilogy, it provides a splendid entry point to Cohen’s superb and at
times singular musicianship.”
Downbeat Magazine

“This music subverts your expectations and sneaks up on you, carrying
you away on the gentle lines of Cohen’s crisp, muted trumpet,
Lindner’s understated keyboards, Loueke’s soothing African vocals and…
Avital’s stalwart Bass.”
All About Jazz - New York

**** “This disc [is] lovable and irresistible…you’ll find this
buoyant, sonically ingenious music that stomps and rocks and carouses
and gallops and has a festive and frequently brilliant good time”
The Buffalo News

“With this rich ramble through a precisely textured soundscape of
surf, sun and sand, trumpeter Avishai Cohen fulfills a potential
first tapped when Lee Morgan got out of those creased suits…Cohen is
a monster on Trumpet…”After the Big Rain” bathes the soul like a warm
tide, with a lush and lovely texture all its own…
Signal to Noise

“With this rich ramble through a precisely textured soundscape of
surf, sun and sand, trumpeter Avishai Cohen fulfills a potential
first tapped when Lee Morgan got out of those creased suits…Cohen is
a monster on Trumpet…”After the Big Rain” bathes the soul like a warm
tide, with a lush and lovely texture all its own…”
Signal to Noise

“Hero after hero is vacating Cohen’s horn; he’s on his way to
becoming his own man”
Village Voice

“…an assertive and accomplished trumpeter with a taste for modernism”
New York Times

Avishai is the chosen artist of Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation (IcExcellence) since 2004.