Anat Cohen - Place & Time
ARTIST.....: Anat Cohen
TITLE......: Place & Time
LABEL......: Anzic
URL........: http://www.anatcohen.com
RIP DATE...: Feb-11-2008
STORE DATE.: 000-00-2005
GENRE......: Jazz
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 75,9 MB
Track Listing:
01 - place & time 05:38
02 - the 7th of march 06:06
03 - veinte anos 04:58
04 - 87 north 08:02
05 - say it 08:37
06 - homeland 06:38
07 - as catch can 03:21
08 - pour toi 04:38
09 - bat-el 08:21
─────
56:19 min
Release Notes:
ôJazz,ö Duke Ellington once wrote, ôis a good barometer of
freedom. The music is so free that many people say around the
world that it is the only unhampered, unhindered expression of
complete freedom yet produced in this country.ö As Duke also knew,
from his travels in many countries around the world, this common
language of free, personal expression in not at all limited to
musicians of American origin. World-class guitarist Jim Hall has
told me, ôIÆve played in many countries, and in this music, I can
communicate fully with musicians whose native language I canÆt
speak.ö And for a long time, musicians from other lands have shown
that in telling who they are through jazz, they have added to the
music the sounds and experience of where they came from û from
Django Reinhardt to Toshiko Akiyoshi. Anat Cohen, who first
emerged in her own voice as part of the energetic Tel-Aviv jazz
scene, has played in many countries, and now, based in America,
she has become a vital member of the jazz scene here. I first
heard her a few years ago at the Arbors Records tribute to Ruby
Braff in Florida, and wrote, in the Wall Street Journal: ôShe
filled the room with a huge, bursting soundö that felt to me like
the spirit of Ben Webster. Like Ben Webster, however, in other
sets that day, she revealed a luminous lyricism on ballads. In
whatever context she plays û and during that event in Florida, she
worked with a variety of players of different styles û Anat Cohen
has the quality of all lasting jazz musicians. She has presence.
From her first notes, she tells you who she is û and over time,
she tells you where sheÆs been in her life and travels. Place &
Time (www.AnatCohen.Com) is her first recording as a leader. She
explains the title: ôBoth æplace and timeÆ have been essential to
my journey as a musician and a person. Moving from Israel to the
U.S.A., traveling around the world playing and listening to music
and spending time in different countries absorbing the culture and
music have contributed to what is now æmyÆ music. ôThis album,ö
she continues, ôincludes these different influences from all over
the world through my specific lens as a jazz musician. It is an
exploration from Israel to Brazil, from Cuba to Argentina, and the
multitude of cultures and styles of New York City.ö Whether on her
evocative originals in this set, and on other tracks, she does
what all authentic musicians do: she tells stories from her own
experiences that are so deeply felt that they are very likely to
connect listeners to their own dreams, desires, and longings. What
she wants to say requires a rainbow of instrumental textures and
so, here, she speaks with both technical and emotional command of
tenor and soprano saxophones, and clarinet. A brief Summary of her
musical history includes two years with the Israeli Air Force Big
Band; and then, coming to Boston on a scholarship to the Berklee
College of Music *where she received a BA in professional music
before moving on to New York. For the past six years, she has been
a member of the all-women Diva Jazz Orchestra û which I have
called the most thrilling big jazz band on the scene û and its
Five Play Jazz Quintet. She has been a guest artist at the Apollo
with Wynton MarsalisÆs Lincoln Jazz Orchestra, and surely would
qualify to be its first full-time woman member if Wynton ever
decides to fully integrate the orchestra. And illustrating the
scope of her musical adventurousness, Anat in an integral member
of the New York-based Choro Ensemble, which is committed, as she
says, ôto the authentic Choro tradition of Brazilö Inevitably,
Anat is also making her mark as a leader, having introduced her
quartet at Sweet Rhythm in 2004. Her range of musical challenges
recalls what Duke Ellington used to tell me about his refusal to
limit music to any ôcategory.ö He had no patience for being
confined to any one form or style. Exemplifying that openness to
the fullness of musical possibilities, Anat is performing in a duo
project with pianist Alon Yavnai . (Their debut CD is scheduled
for release in spring, 2005) And she also appears with her two
brothers, Yuval Cohen and Avishai Cohen, on the BMG CD, ôSumma Cum
Jazzö and on their current self-released, debut album: ô3
Cohens/Oneö. Her composing and arranging are as intriguingly
personal as her playing. Accordingly, I asked her to provide some
of the genesis of originals in this album. Anat Writes:
The 7th of March- in memory of David Demlin March 7th is my
birthday. I completed this song on my birthday. On March 3rd, 2002
David Demlin was shot in an act of terror while fulfilling his
duty as a reserve soldier for the IDF. David was a French Horn
Player in my high school and the best friend of one of my friends.
I composed this song and have played it over and over for him û as
a prayer for his soul and with hope for better times.
87 North û This is a song I wrote after a trip to Rochester NY
with the Diva Jazz Orchestra. We drove in 2 vans. The driver of
the one I was in à.missed the turn off from the highway for
Rochesteràand kept going until we were approaching the Canadian
border. We had traveled for several hours too long, singing
happily all the while, on 87 North. The 7-hour trip to the gig
turned into a 14 hour haul. Luckily we didnÆt play that night.
When I got home, finally, after a couple of days this song came
out.
Homeland ûWhile I was writing this song I realized it evoked many
of my memories of Israel. It sounded to me like an Israeli song
and I had to invite my brother to play it with me û I kept hearing
his trumpet playing this melody. I called it homeland for the
ôSuadadeöà the missing of my country,
Pour Toi (in the memory of Stan Bothorel) û I had a dream in which
I met my friend Stan who had died a few years ago. Stan,
originally from Paris, was a wonderful pianist who came to study
at Berklee. We met at school and started a quartet. It was my
first quartet at Berklee. We used to play together quite a lot. He
passed away in 98 after fighting cancer. He was only 28. A couple
of years ago I met him in my dream. We hung out all night,
enjoying life, talking about life and death, enjoying nature, the
wind, the treesà This dream was full of happiness and optimism.
When I woke up in the morning I laid my hands on the keyboard and
this song came effortlessly and completely.
Bat-El is a nickname I call my friend Michal. She calls me Bat-El
as well. She lives in Tel-Aviv and I wrote this song when I was
staying at her house on one of my visits to Israel when my
parentsÆ home was under construction. Bat-El means ôthe daughter
of Godöà I am not sure why we started to use this name but weÆve
been doing so for a while now.
Viente Anos is a Cuban song. IÆve loved Cuban music since I
started to play in an Afro-Latin Band back in my Boston days. When
I was looking for a material for the album my friend Colin
suggested I record Viente Anos. It is a famous Cuban song, which
IÆve heard before. Jeff Ballard approached it more as a Tango vibe
and IÆm sure I felt connection to the Jewish sounding melodyà The
melody sounds to me eternal and I feel it could be played in many
different ways.
In his book Jazz Planet (University of Mississippi press), E.
Taylor Atkins, a history professor at Northern Illinois
University, writes of jazz being ôa harbinger of what we know call
globalization in that the music expresses democracy,
individualism, social mobilityàits explosive creative energy, as
breathtaking as that of any true artàis cathartic.ö
Professor Atkins could well have had Anat Cohen in mind when he
wrote that.
Jo Jones, ôthe man played like the windö Count BasisÆs longtime
drummer, who was a mentor of mine in jazz, and in life, one said:
ôWhat is Jazz? The closest I can get to answering that is that
jazz is playing what you feel. All jazz musicians express
themselves through their instruments, and they express the types
of persons they are, the experiences theyÆve had during the day,
during the night before, during their lives. There is no way they
can subterfuge their feelings.ö
Jo Jones too could have had Anat Cohen in mind.
- Nat Hentoff
With: Anat Cohen - Tenor & Soprano Sax, Clarinet Jason Lindner -
Piano Ben Street - Bass Jeff Ballard - Drums Avishai Cohen -
Trumpet (tracks 4,6,7& 9)
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