Press Quotes
-
עושה כבוד ("DOES HONOR") 'Yediot Achronot'- Israel.In his new album, Avishai Cohen closes a circle — and the gain is entirely ours
ג'אז (Album) Eternal Child — by Amir SchwartzWhatever line of work it is, the tried-and-tested way to stay young is to never stop. For jazz musicians, this principle shows up not only in the constant search for new influences and sounds, but also in giving a stage to partners who are at the beginning of their own path. On Eternal Child, the new and highly recommended album by bassist Avishai Cohen, this generous approach also functions as a kind of closing of the circle back to where he himself began.
The title track was originally written by Chick Corea — the same person who, in the late 1990s, recruited the young Cohen into the lineup of the band he was running and created at the time, effectively paving the way for Cohen’s international career. On Eternal Child, Cohen doesn’t just pay tribute to his mentor — he also pays that same coin forward to two young musicians: pianist Itay Simhovich and drummer Eviatar Slivnik. The latter shares drumming duties on the album with Jeff Ballard, who previously worked with both Cohen and Corea. Here’s another fitting closing of the circle.
Although Cohen’s professional focus has been based abroad for over a quarter of a century, his roots are planted deep in Israeli soil, and the sounds he creates are also steeped in influences from it. This stands out especially on the track “Tonight,” which echoes the veteran song “Simcha Gedola HaLayla” (“Great Joy Tonight”), which most readers will recognize chiefly from the film Chagiga BeSnooker.
Over the course of 52 minutes, Cohen and his partners present jazz that is mostly intimate, rich, with a lot of space and warmth — as for example on “Humbly Yours” and on “Closure” (how could it not be?), where Cohen’s gentle touches sound like a beating heart.