3 Cohens/WDR Big Band

(Anzic) *****

By  https://downbeat.com/site/author/frank-alkyer" rel="nofollow - Frank Alkyer   

There is such an incredible amount of interaction going on throughout this album that the title is a slam dunk. First, there’s the interaction between the 3 Cohens — clarinetist Anat, trumpeter Avishai and saxophonist Yuval — just a sister and her two brothers drawing on a lifetime of laughing, playing, sharing meals and simply being family together. They finish each other’s musical statements. They blend their instruments into beautiful threads like a homemade patchwork quilt.

Add in their interaction with the famed WDR Big Band, an organization known for its inventive collaborations with everyone from Steve Gadd and Dave Stryker to Joe Zawinul and Patti Austin. Under the conduction of Bob Mintzer, the Cologne, Germany-based ensemble has earned its way to the top of the big band pantheon in today’s landscape.

This album presents musicianship of the highest order. The live set (performed to a packed auditorium in 2022 at the Kölner Philharmonie) kicks off with a wickedly swinging “Shufla de Shufla” (Aramaic for “best of the best”) that shows off Avishai’s massive skill and versatility as a trumpeter, into a masterful solo by Yuval and off to Anat’s silk-soaked blues clarinet lines. This particular interaction spills over to include WDR’s pianist, Billy Test, who is up to the challenge of bringing this conversation to a tipping point. All three Cohens bring tunes to the program. Avishai penned “Shufla de Shufla” and the sweetly mournful “Naked Truth Pt. 2.” Yuval wrote the bouncy “Catch Of The Day (For A&M).” And Anat brings in the great show closer “Footsteps & Smiles,” previously heard on her album Triple Helix. But adding to the interaction, just as producer George Martin was often considered “the 5th Beatle,” we have someone who could be called “the 4th Cohen.” Composer and arranger Oded Lev-Ari grew up with the Cohen siblings and has been part of their inner orbit from the beginning. Here, Lev-Ari arranged all of the tunes for big band, went early to rehearse with the WDR and stepped in to conduct the concert. His tune “Trills & Thrills” brings an entirely different element to the proceedings: a sense of the grandeur of modern big band writing. The program features two classics as well: Nick LaRocca’s “Tiger Rag” and Gerry Mulligan’s “Festive Minor.” The sum total of these interactions? A rare opportunity to hear amazing soloists, maybe the best big band on the planet and the breadth of what happens when large ensemble music and family sit down for an evening-length, full-course “meal.” Bon appetit!

from https://downbeat.com