Steve Cohn - solo piano
(Unseenrain Records UR9983) Street Date: May 6, 2016
www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevecohn2
ANSPRUCHSVOLL – An exquisite recording of solo piano improvisations, alternately rhapsodic, pointillistic, reflective, gregarious, yet always Cohn. The hidden marriage of jazz and new music is always lurking beneath Steve's flowing pianism.
At every turn, Cohn surprises and exceeds expectations. Puns and wisps of ideas run through everything. Stutterstep syncopation becomes a uniting factor in a broad range of perspectives... Steve Cohn makes a place for himself among his contemporaries with this recording. He sits very comfortably next to Matthew Shipp or Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus. — Brad Fasnacht, freelance writer in Chicago, former contributing editor, New York Press
Ever innovative, pianist Steve Cohn has developed a unique style of improvisation over the course of his career which has taken him across styles of jazz as well as around the world. With over 25 recordings in his name, Steve has played with the likes of Eddie Henderson, Sonny Simmons, Reggie Workman, Barry Altschul, Oliver Lake, Fred Hopkins, Bruce Ditmas, Denis Charles, William Parker, Bob Stewart, Frank Lowe ,Karl Berger, Steve Lacy among many others. He has performed his own works at venues such as New York City’s Miller Theatre, the Newport JVC Festival, the Great American Music Hall, World Shakuhachi Festivals and other festivals and tours in Europe, Estonia, Japan, Canada, Mexico and the USA.
He has conducted master classes (including the Paris National Conservatory) and has received grants from Arts International, Meet the Composer, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Two of his recordings, SUFI DANCERS and ITTEKIMASU, received four star ratings in Downbeat Magazine and placed on the list of top ten releases in Cadence Magazine. THE BEGGAR AND THE ROBOT IN DIAMONDS was also chosen on the “Top Ten List” by Tracking Angle. His recordings, BRIDGE OVER THE X-STREAM, THE BLAIR RECORDINGS, WIRE, IRO IRO and many more have also received much acclaim.
“Cohn’s intricate counterpoint and drama-infused harmonies are equally efective on muscular jazz-hued sprints and pointillistic passages. There are few American pianists who have Cohn’s talents” — Bill Shoemaker, Downbeat Magazine
" Cohn's playing is hypnotic and remarkable throughout. He is a true original." - Robert Spencer, Cadence Magazine
