The sound of trumpeter Avishai Cohen is instantly recognizable. Yet he keeps looking for new ways to express himself and to compose. He is a master at bringing different worlds together harmoniously. This is why he has been compared to the greatest jazz musicians in history by the American press: ‘Like Miles Davis, he can make the trumpet a vehicle for uttering the most poignant human cries’, wrote JazzTimes.
The Quartet’s new album Ashes to Gold was recently released on the quality label ECM Records. Recorded in November 2024, a month after the start of the war, this album is his call for a ceasefire.
Ashes to Gold: the title imagery is drawn from the old Japanese art of kintsugi, the ceramic repair work “where you take the old and the broken and try and put the pieces back together, to make something golden and beautiful from the fragments,” says Avishai Cohen. “In a way I think that’s where we dwell. Our reality. And although this music can’t help but reflect the times, it also – in my wishful imagination – has some hope to it. At least, it is not only dark.”
Yonathan Avishai piano, Avishai Cohen trumpet, Barak Mori bass, Ziv Ravitz drums
