Musical portrait of jazzman Avishai Cohen

     Israeli jazz musician Avishai Cohen is only 38 years old. But he’s a fast-rising star in his profession.Cohen played in Kyiv on Oct. 18 during the “Jazz in Kyiv” festival, sharing the spotlight with such performers as the legendary Al Jarreau and the great Dave Holland.

     A “jazz visionary of global proportions” is what the American magazine Down Beat called Cohen. Bass Player magazine called him “one of the 100 most influential bass players of the 20th century.” Legendary pianist Chick Corea dubbed him “a great composer” and “a genius musician.”

     After his concert, Cohen discussed how his career formed from childhood. As it turns out, one of his great influences is music imported into Israel by Russian Jews.

     “After the World War II, many Russian people came to live in Israel. There were people from Poland and the Czech Republic, too. They brought songs and melodies of the Red Army with them. All of them were military songs. But the melodies were so beautiful that they came up with lyrics in Hebrew for them,” Cohen said. “Young people now don’t even know they are Russian. It’s funny that Russian people don’t like these songs because they are about war and stuff. But I took some of them as they are so beautiful, so well-composed.”

Oksana Faryna
Photo: www.e-warsaw.pl