Avishai Cohen: A Modern Master

By Paula Edelstein

Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen is an alchemist at heart. Finding inspiration in musicians ranging from Bach to Stevie Wonder, Avishai can transform an Israeli school tune into poetic gold, transform Sephardic melodies his grandfather sang in prayer, or his mother hummed, and make them groove.  Cohen’s  joyful powers of transformation are in full force as he embarks on his North American tour during October 2010 and on AURORA, his debut recording for Blue Note Records. The album showcases his poignant  new vocal arrangements as well as Cohen’s world-renowned bass playing.

Sounds of Timeless Jazz.com caught up with the young master as he prepared for his North American tour. Here’s what he told us about the tour, his ensemble and songs from AURORA:

SOTJ:  Hello Avishai, it’s been a while since we last spoke. How are you?

Avishai: I’m fine; it has been a long time. I’m always traveling around and playing music.

SOTJ:  That’s great. We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback about your music and it’s all good. Congratulations!

Avishai: Thanks!

SOTJ: Avishai, let’s talk a little about your upcoming tour of North America. Which cities are on your agenda?

Avishai: We’re going to New York to play first and then we go Maine and on toToronto. We will play Yoshi’s a few nights in Oakland and then we go to Los Angeles, CA Portland, Oregon, San Diego, CA. We also will do a Mexican date later but that follows our European tour!

SOTJ: Wow!  I’m sure you’ll be killin’ them with your chops…leaving them on the floor!  I look forward to seeing your new show in Los Angeles.

AVISHAI:  That’s what we usually like to do…we do our best and usually succeed in moving people when they feel it!

SOTJ:  Who are the members of your touring group this time?

AVISHAI:  It’s a great group. It’s the group that delivered my latest record and beyond. I’m now singing in Hebrew and some in Spanish at times, so part of the show has vocals in it. There’s a singer with me named Karen and we do some vocals together. There’s Shai Maestro who has been touring with me for four years now. And then there’s a very special percussionist who’s getting a lot of attention. His name is Itamar Doari and of course there’s Amos Hoffman who plays oud and guitar.

SOTJ:  These same musicians are on your latest recording AURORA which is your debut for Blue Note. Congratulations on that also. How do you feel about being a Blue Note recording artist?

AVISHAI:  It’s great. I started with Chick Corea and recorded for Concord so this has been a nice development for me that makes sense. Usually when you’re too young and too inexperienced and you sign with a big label like Blue Note, it could bring some kind of confusion and you don’t always have the weight that you need to keep a good relationship with those companies that are not always so personal. But now, it’s very cool, I ‘m in a good place because it makes sense. I have a good following especially in Europe and in France and so it makes sense to be with them and they do a very good job and we have a good relationship. It’s very nice to be on Blue Note as I have grown up listening to a lot of great Blue Note records and I am very proud of it.

SOTJ:  Congratulations Avishai. You produced AURORA along with Joe Ferla, Itamar Doari and Nicholas Pflug. What does a good producer bring to the mix?

AVISHAI:  A good producer brings his own eye and tries to stay as objective as possible and seeing the picture as it is from a personal point of view like the artist is sometimes doing. So it’s good to have another ear in order to stay balanced as possible. They pick up on the good things or on the things that don’t match or don’t feel good. Sometimes it’s hard to be the writer, the singer, the player and to know the full picture. So it’s very important to have people like that around you when you make a record.

SOTJ:  And Joe Ferla is one of the premiere producers in the business. So you were in good hands.

AVISHAI:  Yes, I’ve known Joe for a while. He’s been on several of my earlier records. He’s a good friend and a much admired colleague.

SOTJ:  Avishai you are equally committed to introducing new sounds and players into the Avishai Cohen experience whenever possible. So now, as a singer, do you feel you’ve reached your musical potential by adding your vocals to the music?

AVISHAI: Well I hope to never feel as if I’ve reached my musical potential. I always feel that there is more. I’ve definitely feel that I’ve reached more of the spectrum that I hold within myself. Singing brought me into a deeper look into myself and my surroundings as a creator and musician and taught me many things that I couldn’t know before. It’s a great thing because to me, a great musician, first of all, needs to play behind singers or to sing himself and accompany himself. The accompanying of a voice is very important for the fruition or the completeness of a musician. It’s now a part of my sound and I’m very happy about it.

SOTJ:   I really enjoyed listening to you sing on AURORA. The new arrangements and your lyrical, romantic style lends itself particularly well to the human voice and it also steps up the performances of the group as well as having helped your musical concepts come to fruition. How did this mix of personnel come about?

AVISHAI:  In the best way. I’m usually naturally drawing the right people to the music without even knowing it. I select musicians who can go with it, understand it, feel it and believe it in their own way. They are in full understanding of the depths of where I come from with my ideas. So they help me as much as I help them.

SOTJ:  The songs are definitely great vehicles for all of you.  The subliminal beats of your bass playing are widely known to regulate the moods and atmosphere of the entire ensemble. What do you think makes your bass playing on AURORA different now that you’re singing on your compositions?

AVISHAI:  Great question. Even though I don’t have children, I feel like I suddenly have a child. So as a bass player, I have to be more parenting. As a bass player, you have a parenting job. You have to establish this foundation that remains rhythmically logical, melodic …so when I sing, I stay more responsible; stay more faithful and careful for the other lines. But when I stop singing, I can be freer with the bass lines and improvise more.

SOTJ:  Finally, you are the living sentiment at the heart of these songs. Do you have a favorite composition on AURORA at this time?

AVISHAI:  It would be hard but I do like “Morenika.” It’s my arrangement for a very old Sephardic Jewish/Spanish song. But I stayed very true to the beautifully carved melodies. It gives you a taste of old times. It’s a traditional Ladino folk song.

SOTJ:  Well Avishai, thank you for the interview. It’s been a real pleasure speaking to you again. Congratulations on your latest endeavors including your new relationship at Blue Note. We’ll spread the word about your upcoming North American tour and really look forward to hearing you in concert.

AVISHAI:  Thank you Paula. It’s been good speaking to you also. I look forward to seeing you there. 

SOTJ: Stay in touch with the great Avishai Cohen at avishaimusic.com .