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  • Writer's pictureRosie G.

Avishai Cohen


Indie jazz double bassist Avishai Cohen has been wowing audiences around the world. He comes from a musical family where music just runs in the blood. He was born in Kibbutz Kabri, Israel to a family of mixed origins from Spain, Greece, and Poland. He started playing piano at age 9 but after listening to the music of legendary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius he switched to bass guitar. He left Isreal by age 22 and moved here to NYC to pursue his career. While working odd jobs he was busking on the streets of New York. He started taking classes at the New School where he met

Latin jazz pianist, Danilo Perez and later joined his trio. He was able to experiment with Latin sounds which led him to join legendary jazz pianist, Chick Correa's trio. During his time with Chick Correa, he sharpened his skills and performance.


Avishai Cohen isn't just a jazz musician he has always loved other music genres like pop, rock, funk, and Latin as well as middle eastern sounds. He loves mixing these genres in his music and by 1998 he released his first album, Adama. I love the song Madrid with its middle eastern vibe and rhythm. Since then he has released several albums where he experimented with both Latin and Meditteranean sounds. He had been signed to Concord and with Blue Note Records but in 2002 he started his own record label, Razdaz Records because he wanted to be free to play the type of music he wanted. Since then he has been part of several projects and started several bands like the International Vamp band and rock band, Gadu. Freedom of expression is what every musician strives for and Avishai Cohen has been doing that for several years now. In 2020 he joined the French independent record label, Naïve Records and recorded the album, Two Roses last year. An album of classical music mixed with jazz which I loved. Check out the songs, When I'm Falling and Arab Medley. This jazz artist's signature sound blends Middle Eastern, Eastern European, African, Ladino folk songs and jazz standards. This past May he released his latest album, Shifting Sands. He will be on tour and when he comes to your city or town go check him out live. You'll be glad you did. Support independent music and musicians worldwide. Happy listening!

Intertwined

 


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