Avishai Cohen Trio with guest, Kurt Rosenwinkel
Jazz à la Vilette, France – 5th September 2014
A few words from Avishai:
I have been asked by the prestigious Jazz à la Vilette Festival in Paris to do a special show for their 2014 edition. Without too much thought, Kurt Rosenwinkel came to mind.
Kurt and I know each other from way back in the early 90s in New York where we were both heavily involved in the young jazz scene. It was at Smalls Jazz Club where I heard Kurt’s band for the first time and was blown away by the sheer originality and very strong sense of self he had. I got to know Kurt and we played a few sessions together in Brooklyn which led to doing a trio recording, together with Jorge Rossi on drums. The album is called East Coast Love Affair, under Kurt’s name, and it’s a recording I’m very proud of. Since then we have both been leading our own bands, travelling the world and writing our own music. We have talked about doing something together for a long time now, waiting for our schedules to allow for it, and finally, I’m happy to say it’s happening.
To me, Kurt is what I had always wanted to be, an artist that is most himself, totally and utterly dedicated to his own voice, both compositionally and as a guitarist. I find a lot of power and inspiration in that and can’t wait to see what we will craft together on this show.
See you there, Avishai.
And thanks to Kurt for his comments:
I am thrilled to announce my upcoming collaboration with the brilliant bassist/composer and band leader, Avishai Cohen. We have known each other since our days as young musicians in New York City in the 1990’s. During that time we shared many mutual friends and played many times together, and ultimately recorded together in 1995 on my first release, “East Coast Love Affair”. Since then Avishai has gone on to develop his unique and rich music and has enjoyed great success worldwide. We have talked for years about collaborating and I am happy to announce that this is now happening and will begin with a concert in Paris on September 5 at the prestigious Jazz a La Vilette Festival.
We hope you all join us for this reunion and new beginning.
See you in Paris!
Yours,
Kurt