Anat Cohen
Tentet
‘Triple Helix’
Anzic Records
Over the last two
decades Israel has been such a strong breeding ground for jazz musicians, it’s
become the new New Orleans, the Big Uneasy. Among Israel’s top musical exports
is perpetually poll-topping clarinetist Anat Cohen. “Triple Helix,” her new
album with her wonderful Tentet, finds her at the top of her game, soaring and adventurous
throughout. Cohen shares the spotlight with Musical Director Oded Lev-Ari,
whose arrangements are nothing short of brilliant.
The title tune, a
three-part suite by Lev-Ari, is wide-ranging in moods and musical styles. The
first movement features a double solo by Cohen and guitarist Sheryl Bailey that
verges on a visit to the Hotel California. Cohen contributes three excellent
originals, including the beautiful “Miri” and the elegiac “Morning Melody
(Epilogue).” Among the covers, “Milonga Del Angel” is a gorgeous treatment of
an Astor Piazzolla classic, while “Lonesome Train” by Gene Roland evokes Duke
Ellington.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2019.
