Anat Cohen
Biography
Clarinet & Saxophone
Ever charismatic, prolific and inspired, Grammy-nominated clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over with her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence. The New York Times writes, “Ms. Cohen on the clarinet was a revelation. Using the clarinet’s upper register, she could evoke infectious joy. In the lower register, her playing could conjure a deep, soulful melancholy. On up-tempo numbers, her improvisations weren’t just bebop fast; they had a clarity and deep intelligence that is really quite rare. She made it look effortless, even as she was playing the most technically difficult of all the reed instruments… she took my breath away.”
Anat has been declared Clarinetist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association every year since 2007 and has also been named the top clarinetist in both the readers and critics polls in DownBeat magazine for multiple years running.
Cohen has released 16 albums as a leader on her own label Anzic Records, which was established in 2005, her latest being the acclaimed album Quartetinho (2022). Three releases: Outra Coisa: The Music Of Moacir Santos: a collaboration with guitarist Marcello Gonçalves (2017), Rosa Dos Ventos, a collaboration with Trio Brasileiro (2017) and Triple Helix – Anat Cohen Tentet (2019), were nominated for Grammy Awards.
However easy Anat makes it seem onstage, the mastery of any great art is a long, elusive challenge, and she teaches the fine points of jazz and the music of Brazil to budding students across North America, including the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music (SJCM) at The New School and artist residencies at MIT, Stanford, Oberlin, Michigan State University, University of California-San Diego, the Centrum Choro & Jazz Workshops and California Brazil Camp. About her experiences onstage, in the classroom or just engaging with her listeners, Anat says: “Any day when I get to share music with people – other musicians, an audience – feels like a celebration to me.”