Cohen was brought up in a multicultural family in Israel, surrounded by music from an early age. Music, as he AVISHAI COHEN puts it, was always in the air at his house. He says his parBorn in Israel, April 20 1970 ents had a natural love for music and listened to many Moves to New York in 1992, after old Israeli folk tunes and Ladino songs, but also classical having played bass for two years in an and traditional pieces. army band “These sounds have always been around me. I am for1997, gets a phone call from jazz piatunate to live close to my parents, brothers and sisters’ nist Chick Corea that leads to a record family homes,” Cohen says. “Also, I tend to work with contract new and up-coming young musicians that I’ve identified 1998, releases his first album, Adama and they totally inspire me every day.” 2002, creates his own record label, The musicians Cohen is working with for his latest alRazdas Recordz, with his manager bum, From Darkness, are two men he seems to admire 2009, starts a partnership with jazz a lot. At the concerts in Berlin and Prague, Nitai Hershklabel EMI/Blue Note ovits will accompany him on piano and Daniel Dor on 2013, unveils new project Avishai drums. Cohen says the time felt right to record with a Cohen with Strings – trio – although he believes that the harmonies of a trio a string quartet with a difference, have always been at the heart of his music. Cohen replaces “I felt it was the right one of the violins with a viola moment to record in a trio, because it is the first time Cohen is married and the father of a since Gently Disturbed, two-year-old daughter, Almah. in 2008, that I felt I was He speaks Hebrew and English, reaching a truly new, fresh and understands Spanish. He has and incredibly substantial performed and recorded in Ladino, form,” Cohen says. “The Hebrew, English and Spanish. trio has a particular sound; Besides music he likes reading, it is an art by itself. My discography has only one pure trio spending time in the garden, fishing album to date, but it doesn’t really reflect the fact that my and getting back to nature. music has always been written for – and executed by – this type of formation.” He explains that a trio has always been the main engine of his народных мелодий и песен на диалекте испанских евmusic, even when he plays in a largреев – ладино, а также классику. er group, like a quartet, sextet or «Эти звуки всегда окружали меня. Мне повезло жить string ensemble. рядом с родителями, братьями и сестрами, – говорит “Trio gives you a lot of freedom, Коэн. – Кроме того, я стараюсь работать с новыми, растуthree people that are combined into щими молодыми музыкантами, которых я нашел, и они one almost. It’s a very strong vehiневероятно вдохновляют меня каждый день». cle. Very quick, rich in sound, there’s Музыкантов, с которыми Коэн работает над своsomething magical about the trio. им свежим проектом – альбомом From Darkness, двое, Once you fall in love with it, you are и, судя по всему, они ему очень нравятся. На концертах addicted to it.” в Берлине и Праге ему будут аккомпанировать Нитай Cohen adds that he has had a Гершковиц на фортепиано и Даниэль Дор на ударных. lot of fun playing with Hershkovits Коэн говорит, что как раз подошло нужное время для and Dor. “Nitai’s playing and musiвыступления в составе трио, хотя, с другой стороны, cianship has never stopped evolvгармония трио всегда находилась в центре его музыки. ing over the years: he has the soul «Я почувствовал, что это подходящий момент, чтобы of a man with experience but is работать в трио, потому что в первый раз после выхода in the body of a 28-year-old! As for альбома Gently Disturbed («Слегка Встревоженный») в 2008 Daniel, from his very first concert году я ощутил, что нашел по-настоящему новую, све-
THERE’S SOMETHING MAGICAL ABOUT THE TRIO
Direction 43