Avishai Cohen: trumpet; Yonathan Avishai: piano; Eric Revis:bass;
Nasheet Watts:drums; Bill McHenry tenor sax
(Review by Steve
H).
Avishai Cohen is one of my favourite musicians of all time so I was very
excited when asked to review this CD. As a poignant Miles Davis style solo
emerged from the speakers I checked the album cover to find this rather
beautiful trumpet player was indeed Avishai Cohen. What an amazing talent not
only is he a world class bassist, composer, arranger and occasional pianist he
is also a trumpet virtuoso as well. Somehow I didn’t think this was possible
and further research led me to the happy discovery of ‘the other’ AC.
The music was composed 6 months after the death of his father. The
opening track Life and Death sets the tone of the entire album
- brooding, melancholy, sensitive and moving. Dream Like a
Child is a reference to how his father’s family couldn’t afford to
give him music lessons so he made sure all of his 3 children had the
opportunity denied to him. This was a clear success as all 3 of his children
(Avishai, Anat & Yuval) went on to become professional musicians even
forming a successful family band ‘The 3 Cohens’. This piece, at just over
15 minutes, builds up from a classical style introduction to a more up-tempo
conclusion driven by the very sympathetic rhythm section.
The title track Into The Silence is an angsty more
abstract piece featuring Yonathan Avishai on piano and has a haunting feel to
it. Quiescence has a somewhat lighter tone to it with
Cohen playing at his most Miles-like with
a hypnotic bass line in the background from Waits. Behind the Broken
Glass features Bill McHenry on tenor but is dominated by Cohen’s
almost waling trumpet. A piano only reprise of Life and Death brings
the album to a gentle, subtle and moving, conclusion.
As the subject matter dictates, this a pensive, sombre album not one to
take to a party perhaps but rather one to listen to when in a quiet
contemplative mood.
Steve.Avishai Cohen - Into the Silence released Feb. 12 on ECM.
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