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Pianist Emmet Cohen recorded his latest album with iconic drummer Jimmy Cobb.
STEVEN SUSSMAN
EMMET COHEN
Student of History
When Emmet Cohen isn’t on the road
with vocalist Kurt Elling, drummer
Herlin Riley or bassist Christian
McBride’s “Special Trio” with guitarist Mark
Whitfield, the 26-year-old pianist is a ubiquitous
presence around Manhattan. Consider the
Harlem resident’s itinerary during the first weeks
of fall: uptown, a string of Tuesday midnight sets
on Hammond B-3 at Smoke; midtown, a week of
late-night deconstructions of Fats Waller repertoire
at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola with his working
trio (bassist Russell Hall, drummer Kyle
Poole); downtown, a night at Mezzrow with his
Italian “Trinity” trio (Giuseppe Venezia, bass;
Elio Coppola, drums—represented on the 2013
date Infinity [Skidoo]) that revealed his kaleidoscopic
sense of musical narrative.
At Mezzrow, Cohen started with a nod to the
late Cedar Walton, reharmonizing an opening
cadenza on “That Old Feeling,” a Walton favorite,
then settling into a medium swing groove
infused with Walton-esque voicings. Cohen
interpolated “Over The Rainbow” and “Surrey
With The Fringe On Top” as he constructed an
ascending arc, exploring a different idea with
each chorus. An orchestral decrescendo refracted
Wayne Shorter’s harmonic language, transitioning
gradually into Walton’s “Hindsight.”
Cohen squeezed the aria-like Neapolitan
standard “Nun è Peccato” for all available emotional
juice. “It’s All Right With Me,” on the
other hand, was a master class in the seamless
application of stylistic juxtaposition—he followed
another abstract intro with a bravura
stride passage, shifted into bebop gear and jumpcut
briskly between rhythms.
“I’m developing a concept, as are many people
I play with, that tries to encompass the entire
spectrum of jazz history,” Cohen said the following
afternoon. “I’ve been exploring every pianist
who has meant something to the history of jazz. I
look for new ways to tackle their material and try
to capture their spirit, without necessarily playing
exactly what they played.”
Cohen dates his embrace of this direction to
2012, when he attended Manhattan School of
Music, following three years at University of
Miami. That he was already a highly proficient
practitioner of post-Bud Powell piano language
is evident on his 2011 debut, In The Element
(Bada Beep Music), with bassist Joe Sanders and
drummer Rodney Green, and on Questioned
Answer (Hollistic MusicWorks), a probing 2012
date co-led with Lynch that is anything but
postmodern. Once ensconced in New York,
though, Cohen slipped into after-hours rotations
at Smalls and, consequentially, at Dizzy’s,
where vocalist Michael Mwenso was curating
across-the-timeline-oriented programs with
stars-to-be like Jonathan Batiste.
“Michael booked people who he thought the
people playing the main set should hear,” Cohen
recalled. “One week, Russell and I played after
Herlin Riley, who joined us later for the jam session.
Thanks to Michael’s foresight and vision,
that relationship developed naturally. I met
Mulgrew Miller and Monty Alexander that way.”
Cohen tamps down experimental imperatives
on the new release Masters Legacy Series,
Volume 1, Featuring Jimmy Cobb (Cellar Live).
He contributes arrangements of landmarks of
Cobb’s discography (“Two Bass Hit,” “On The
Trail,” “When I Fall In Love,” “Hard Times”),
and responds to the 88-year-old drum icon’s signature
ride cymbal beat and efficient fills with
improvisations that impart the sound of now.
For Volume 2, Cohen intends to recruit
nonagenarian Jimmy Heath, with whom he
interacted in 2013 in the Dizzy Gillespie Big
Band. “The [goal] is to bring out the best of whoever
I’m sharing the moment with,” Cohen said.
“If I’m relaxed and listen first, I can make decisions
based on all the information I’ve experienced.”
—Ted Panken
22 DOWNBEAT FEBRUARY 2017