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Anzic Records to Release Introducing Triveni from Trumpeter/Composer Avishai Cohen

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"Cohen is a multi-cultural jazz musician, among whose ancestors is Miles Davis. Like Davis, he can make the trumpet a vehicle for uttering the most poignant and portentous human cries."—Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes (on Flood)

“An extravagantly skilled trumpeter.. relaxed and soulful... he deftly combined sensitivity and flair."—Nate Chinen, The New York Times (on Triveni live at The Jazz Standard)

Anzic Records To Release Introducing Triveni
From Trumpeter/Composer AVISHAI COHEN

On September 28, 2010 Anzic Records will release trumpeter/composer Avishai Cohen's new recording, Introducing Triveni, featuring longtime collaborators and dear friends, Omer Avital on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. With Introducing Triveni,Cohen, now a member of the distinguished SF Jazz Collective, fulfills his artistic need to get back to music that is mainly improvised. Triveni is a Sanskrit word borrowed from the name of the confluence of three rivers in India, the Triveni Sangam, which comprises two physical rivers, the Ganga and the Yumana, that meet with the mythical, mysterious Saraswati river. Avishai's band Triveni has a similar makeup, as he explains; “Regarding Omer, I've been playing with him for so many years, we know each other well, we can hear where each other are going harmonically and vibe-wise, we know each other's time feel very well, so it is very comfortable. He's an incredible musician, composer and bassist. With Nasheet it's exactly the opposite: always a mystery, always surprising. He's such a force, such an incredible drummer that never plays anything but the music itself. No 'licks,' no nonsense. Pure truth. And on top—swinging his ass off! I never know where he's going and every show is a new and fresh experience." Together—this combination of the known, Avishai (the Ganga), Omer (the Yumana), and the unknown in Nasheet (the Saraswati) creates a great balance and freshness which is a unique and powerful place to create music from.

After working for a few years with longer compositions, elaborate charts and music that sometimes required much rehearsal before it could hit the stage, Cohen decided to create a band and a book of music that could be played for the first time in performance, and music that would exist to serve the improvisations, as opposed to the other way around. Cohen, who takes full advantage of the space and freedom this piano-less trio affords, composed all of the music (except the standards of course) while traveling, or waiting. Cohen explains further, “either on the subway, on planes or just waiting in line, I composed all of this music in my head without piano or my trumpet. The music is meant to be spontaneous, no hard charts, and every tune can be read for the first time on the bandstand. It started from a real need, because I often have to use subs, but it evolved into the very distinct and gratifying nature of this band."

Drawing from hard-bop, funk, and avant-garde, Introducing Triveni features music from the Great American songbook to Cohen's original compositions, and his provocative and always soulful playing has never sounded so assured. With the release of Introducing Triveni “The Trumpet Player" continues to establish himself as one of his generation's leading musical voices.

Introducing Triveni and Introducing Triveni Part Two (working title, to be released in May 2011) were recorded in 10 hours over two days at Systems Two in Brooklyn, New York, partly in front of a live studio audience.

More on Avishai Cohen:

Avishai Cohen is a leading figure on the international jazz scene and one of the most sought-after trumpet players of his generation. Though deeply rooted in the bebop and post-bop tradition, Mr. Cohen is taking jazz in new directions, making waves as an improviser, composer, and bandleader. Originally from Tel Aviv, he began performing at age 10. He toured the world with the Young Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and went on to become the trumpet player of choice for many leading jazz, rock, pop, studio, and television projects. He received a full scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and in 1997 he placed third in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition. Mr. Cohen came of age as part of the fertile scene at Smalls, the storied New York jazz club, where he developed his artistic vision alongside such friends and colleagues as pianist Jason Lindner and bassist Omer Avital. All of his diverse work, as a leader, co-leader, and sideman, is informed by the broad-minded legacy of this scene, which has given jazz new vitality and relevance in the 21st century. Since early 2010, Cohen has been a member of the prestigious SF Jazz Collective. As a leader Cohen has five albums under his own name: The Trumpet Player (2002), After The Big Rain (2006), Flood (2007), Seven (2007 -triple CD), and coming out on September 28, 2010—the new CD: Introducing Triveni. In addition, he has recorded seven albums as a co-leader with The 3 Cohens and Third World Love. Cohen can also be heard on such soundtracks as American Gangster and Soul Man as well as on numerous other albums as a sideman.

Avishai Cohen's CD Release Concerts For Introducing Triveni:
with Nasheet Waits (drums) & Matt Penman (bass)

September 22, 2010 @ 10:00 PM—Le Poisson Rouge, NYC

September 27, 2010 @ 7:30 PM—World Café, Philadelphia, PA

September 28, 2010 @ 7:30 PM—The Regatta Bar, Cambridge, MA

with TBA (drums) & Omer Avital (bass)

October 9, 2010 @ 8:00 PM—SF Jazz Festival, San Francisco, CA

October 11, 2010 @ 7:00 PM—Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA

Introducing Triveni is the first album from the trio of Avishai Cohen, Omer Avital and Nasheet Waits and the follow up recording to the critically acclaimed Flood

Available September 28 on Anzic Records—Anzicrecords.com

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