Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Anat Cohen Tentet at SFJAZZ

Anat Cohen Tentet at SFJAZZ

View Slideshow

By Harry S. Pariser
December 16, 2017
View read count

Anat Cohen Tentet
SFJAZZ
San Francisco, CA
December 3, 2017

An evening with clarinetist extraordinaire

Anat Cohen

clarinet
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Anat Cohen is an unforgettable experience. Residents of San Francisco were fortunate to see Cohen and her Tentet at SFJAZZ on a cool Sunday evening. A native of Tel Aviv, the 38-year-old Cohen studied at Berklee School of Music in Boston before moving to New York City. A decade ago, the Jazz Journalists Association awarded her both "Up and Coming Artist" and "Clarinetist of the Year." They have honored her as "Clarinetist of the Year" every year since then, and she has been voted "Multi-Reedist of the Year" three times since she was first awarded the honor by the Association in 2012. And she has also ranked in a number of Downbeat's readers' and critics' polls alike, taking the top title for clarinet every year since 2010, as well as receiving other awards and offers, including being nominated for two grammy awards.

Cohen cites influences ranging from Cuba's

Los Muñequitos de Matanzas

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Los Mu?equitos de Matanzas to

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane "who has a spiritual influence," to

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis to

Dexter Gordon

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Dexter Gordon, as well as innumerable Brazilian artists including Milton Nascimento and

Moacir Santos

composer / conductor
1926 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Moacir Santos. At Berklee, Cohen had first become enamored with Brazilian music, this led her to Brazil where she fell in love with its intoxicating choro music, which she has introduced to audiences worldwide.

Her band is equally accomplished. The ensemble, clad largely in shades of black and grey, eased into "Happy Song," the title track of her new CD (Anzic Records, 2017) of the same name. Famous for her playfulness onstage, Cohen pranced about and played her horn before gifted pianist (and accordion player)

Vitor Gonçalves

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Vitor Gon?alves stepped in with a lovely piano solo. Then the horn section (

Owen Broder

saxophone
b.1989

" data-original-title="" title="">Owen Broder on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet;

Nadje Noordhuis

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Nadje Noordhuis on trumpet and flugelhorn; and trombonist

Nick Finzer

trombone
b.1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Nick Finzer)—along with cellist

Rubin Kodheli

cello

" data-original-title="" title="">Rubin Kodheli and acoustic bassist

Tal Mashiach

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Tal Mashiach—took flight with rhythmic fluency. Cohen swayed, captivated with the rhythms, before joining in a duet with vibraphonist (and percussionist)

James Shipp

percussion
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">James Shipp.

"Valsa para Alice" had the feel of a tune

Don Byron

clarinet
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Byron might compose and featured a fluglehorn solo by Noordhuis. An invocation by Cohen began the vibrant "Oh Baby" which segued into "Anat's Doina," the first of three tunes from "Happy Song." During these Gon?alves showed his stuff on accordion; Bailey and Kodheli offered guitar and clarinet couplings; Broder delivered with his baritone, while Noordhuis played her trumpet with gusto. A lovely cello solo led into a fast-paced percussion-driven jam with Shipp on tambourine which marked the end of "Anat's Doina." Sometime after the end of "Loro," a mysterious dark-clad figure took the stage to conduct parts of "Thrills and Thrills"; he turned out to be musical director

Oded Lev-Ari

producer

" data-original-title="" title="">Oded Lev-Ari. The pace slowed as Kodheli plucked his cello strings in tandem with Mashiach's cello fingering, while Shipp came in with tonalities from the vibraphone which resembled waves lapping at the shore.

Cohen, addressing the audience for the first time that evening, talked about the band's formation and how she had selected her musicians. "It's working out," she said and smiled. The next tune was Cohen's arrangement of Neba Solo's "Kenedougou Fol," also from Happy Song. This tune from Mali, the set's final number, rapidly moved into high gear. Baritone sax, vibraphone and Cohen's lush clarinet all contributed to the mix.

A standing ovation brought the band back for an encore: the lively" Espinha de Calhau," one of Cohen's beloved choros from Brazil. Gon?alves (a native of Brazil and an immigrant to the US who now resides in New York City) demonstrated his considerable skills on the accordion. The band linked arms around shoulders and faced the audience to receive a second standing ovation.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Kill The Boy
< Previous

Dan McClenaghan's Best Releases of 2...
Next >

Anat Cohen Concerts

Oct 4 Sat

Anat Cohen Quartetinho

Miller Theatre at Columbia University
New York, NY

Dec 13 Sat

Anat Cohen Tentet

Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
Davis, CA

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.