Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Avishai Cohen: Two Roses

12

Avishai Cohen: Two Roses

By

Sign in to view read count
Avishai Cohen: Two Roses
Avishai Cohen dreamed big, with images of symphony orchestras dancing in his head. The Israeli-born bassist maneuvered that dream into a reality with Two Roses, a recording that finds Cohen in the company of the ninety-two piece Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, in addition to his jazz cohorts, Azerbaijani pianist Elchin Shirinov and New Jersey born and bred drummer Mark Guiliana.

Eleven of the tunes presented here, in this lush landscape, come from Cohen's pen. The title piece is a popular tune from Cohen's homeland. "A Child Is Born" comes from the Thad Jones Songbook, and "Nature Boy" is the familiar Eben Ahbez tune, recorded by everyone from Miles Davis to Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn, John Coltrane, Zoot Sims and many more.

The majestic, sweeping scope of this music suggests Cohen as a nominee for the "Aaron Copland of World" Music Award, as the bassist brings to the table influences which span the globe—Afro-Caribbean music, melodies of Israeli folklore, Middle Eastern motifs, North African tinges and hints of Slavic and Russian shadings, all intertwined to create its own unique multicultural listening experience.

With a beautiful and implacable grandeur in the embrace of a collective momentum of eighty-plus players—including Cohen's occasional "every man of the world" vocals (he sounds like a nondenominational priest singing some kind of jazz Mass)—the music could serve as a soundtrack to a grand epic of Cecil B. DeMille proportions, the orchestra at times delicate and fragile, at others powerful and momentous, and always profound.

Track Listing

Almah Sleeping; When I'm Falling; Nature Talking; Song For My Brother; Emotional Storm; Two roses (Shei Shoshanim); Nature Boy; A Child Is Born; Puncha Puncha; Morenika; Seven Seas; Arab Medley; Overture 'Noam', Op. 1; Alon Basela.

Personnel

Additional Instrumentation

Avishai Cohen: vocals; acoustic bass, electric bass; minimoog synthesizer; Gothenberg Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Alexander Hansen.

Album information

Title: Two Roses | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Naive / Believe

Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.