07.08.2018
Text: Cem Kayıran
Translation: Yetkin Nural
Trumpeter and composer Avishai Cohen started off his career by playing at various orchestras during 1990’s. Later, in 1997, he was accepted to Berklee College of Music and came in third place at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Trumpet Competition.
While Avishai Cohen experienced various musical disciplines by taking part in Lemon Juice Quartet, Third World Love and The SFJAZZ Collective, he also formed 3 Cohens project together with his two siblings, Anat and Yuval. In 2003 he released his first album from Fresh Sound New Talent label, The Trumpet Player, which signaled that Cohen would be following the footsteps of legends like Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard. The Trumpet Player, which included two renditions from Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, intrigued worldwide audiences about what is next on Cohen’s exciting musical journey.
The following installment of Cohen’s discography, After The Big Rain (2007), satisfied the curiosity of the audiences. Inspired by various musical heritage of Africa, Avishai Cohen managed to blend these African sounds with both jazz and avant-garde approaches, making himself known as one of the visionary musicians of his generation. After The Big Rain became the fist installment of a trilogy; together with the following albums Flood, which has a similar conception and Seven, which was originally recorded for a video installation.
After several tours and recordings with pianist Jason Linder and trombone player Rafi Malkiel, Avishai Cohen came up with a new trio he led in 2010. This trio, named Triveni, was following the footsteps of names such as Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. Triveni, which is formed by Omar Avital and Nasheet Watts, performed by performed various renditions as well as Avishai Cohen’s unusual compositions. Triveni’s second album came out in 2012.
Avishai Cohen proved that he is one of the most talented and well-rounded musicians of his time. In 2016 he released probably one of the most special albums of his career: Into the Silence, which was recorded right after his father’s death, became the first album he released under the prestigious label ECM. Recorded with Bill McHenry, Eric Revis, Yonathan Cohen and Nasheet Watts, who takes on the drums in most of Cohen’s projects, Into The Silence was highlighting a very atmospheric sound. Same crew came back together the following year for Cross My Palm with Silver, which was also released from ECM. Avishai Cohen will be performing his multi-cultural music for the Istanbul audience during 28th Akbank Jazz Festival.