Avishai Cohen – Big Vicious

After the trumpeter Avishai Cohen moved back from New York to his native Tel Aviv in Israel, he brought together musician friends with whom he had played as a teenager to form his new electric band. By that time, he had long since made a name for himself internationally as a charismatic trumpeter, as a bandleader with a passion for collaborative ensembles, and as a composer who knew how to navigate sensitively between the traditions of improvised music from the US and Europe. 

He named his 2020 album ‘Big Vicious’, just like the band with whom he recorded it. The music is hybrid; it often has a rock feel and, in its electronic-digital moments, also bears a resemblance to trip-hop and ambient. It is never loud or boisterous. Rather, Cohen places emphasis on a nuanced sonic architecture, eloquent phrasing and a gentle melodic style, whilst the two drummers create a sense of tension within the rhythmic foundation itself.

Joint event with Jewish Life in Europe (JEWLIF)