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Anat Cohen

FacultyChoro
Website: https://www.anatcohen.com/

About

Anat Cohen 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 for multiple years running, and in 2009, ASCAP awarded her a Wall of Fame prize for composition and musicianship, among other honors. In October 2017 –Happy Song – the debut release from the Tentet found her drawing on diverse musical loves, from Brazilian music to African grooves, from vintage swing to touching ballads. In many ways, Happy Song carried on from an initial highpoint of her discography, 2007’s sumptuous Noir, which saw Anat weave her various horns through the all-star Anzic Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Lev-Ari. Billboard magazine marveled over the “cinematic feel” of Noir, with The Washington Post praising Lev-Ari’s arrangements as “wonderfully textured and evocative.” The Tentet of Happy Song boasts a different sort of richness, one that’s full but also fleet and fizzing, with an open, jazzy energy. The beautiful arrangements are by both Anat and Lev-Ari, with the latter directing the band. Anat has released numerous recordings in a wide variety of styles and ensembles. 2017 was especially productive featuring Anat’s love affair with Brazilian music on two albums released simultaneously: Outra Coisa: The Music of Moacir Santos with 7-String guitarist Marcello Gonçalves and Rosa Dos Ventos with Trio Brasileiro. Both recordings went on to receive Grammy Award nominations in Best World Music and Best Latin Jazz albums. Having first appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 2007, she had the honor of being the music director for the Newport Jazz Festival Now 60! all-star band that toured the U.S. on the occasion of the festival’s 60th anniversary in 2014. In 2017, Anat played all the major European festivals as part of the all-star, all-female band called ARTEMIS. Anat teaches the fine points of jazz and the music of Brazil to students across North America, including recent residencies at Stanford, Oberlin, Michigan State University, University of California-San Diego, the Centrum Choro Workshop 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.”

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