(Avishai Cohen, bass; Shai Maestro, piano; Mark Guiliana, drums)
Bassist/composer Avishai Cohen was one of the jazz musicians from Israel to gain attention in the U.S. He has played with Chick Corea, Latin bands, pop artist Alicia Keys, and has performed concert works with the London Philharmonic and Boston Pops. He started his own record label in 2003.
This disc may look like the same old piano trio, but it’s not. Pianist Maestro has a similar background to Cohen’s – being trained in both classical and jazz piano. Both are experienced with a wide spectrum of jazz, but also influenced by the musics of North Africa and the Middle East, which gives their work a special world music tinge that differs from the Scandinavian folk influences on some European jazz. Two of the 11 tracks here are based on traditional folk melodies, two are collaborations of the entire trio and all the rest are original by Cohen.
I love the album’s title – seems somehow perfect and it does successfully communicate the general emotional feeling of the music therein. Cohen’s bass work is quite amazing; he makes the hulking string instrument into a true melodic voice in many of the tunes. Variations in G Minor, as its title suggests, comes from the players’ strong classical background, and builds to an exciting and propulsive classical/jazz mix. The Cohen Trio demonstrates without a doubt that there can be many unique varieties of the seemingly boring old piano trio format – especially the ones assigning larger roles to the bass and drums in the trio – adding to the contributions of others such as Keith Jarrett’s, Brad Mehldau’s and The Bad Plus.
TrackList:
Seattle, Chutzpan, Lo Baiom velo balyla, Pinzin Kinzin, Puncha Puncha, Eleven Wives, Gently Disturbed, The Ever-Evolving Etude, Variations in G Minor, Umray, Structure in Emotion.
– John Henry
