EMMET COHEN TRIO WITH SPECIAL GUESTS THE FOUR FRESHMEN

Emmet Cohen:
Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has emerged as one of his generation’s pivotal figures in music and the related arts. A recognized prodigy, Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age three, and his playing quickly became a mature melding of musicality, technique, and concept. Downbeat observed that his “nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he’s above any convoluted technical showmanship.” In the same spirit, Cohen himself has noted that playing jazz is “about communicating the deepest levels of humanity and individuality; it’s essentially about connections,” both among musicians and with audiences. He leads his namesake ensemble, the “Emmet Cohen Trio,” is a vibrant solo performer, and is in constant demand as a sideman. Possessing a fluid technique, an innovative tonal palette, and an extensive repertoire, Cohen plays with the command of a seasoned veteran and the passion of an artist fully devoted to his medium.

Emmet Cohen is committed to the intergenerational transfer of artistic knowledge, history, and traditions. His signature professional undertaking is the “Masters Legacy Series,” a celebratory set of recordings and interviews honoring legendary jazz musicians. He serves as both producer and pianist for each album in the series. The goal of this landmark, ongoing project is to provide musicians of multiple generations a forum to transfer the unwritten folklore that is America’s unique musical idiom.

Emmet Cohen’s exacting keyboard artistry has garnered numerous accolades from the international jazz community. He placed first in both the American Jazz Pianists competition (2014) and the Phillips Piano Competition at the University of West Florida (2011). He was a finalist in the prestigious American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter Fellowship (2015, 2011) and the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition (2011). Cohen has appeared in world-renowned jazz events, including the Newport, Monterey, North Sea, Bern, Edinburgh, Detroit, and Jerusalem jazz festivals, as well as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia. He has also performed at the Village Vanguard, the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Birdland, Jazz Standard, London’s Ronnie Scott’s, Jazzhaus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, the Cotton Club in Tokyo, and the Kennedy Center, and was received in the Oval Office by President Obama. He is currently Hammond B-3 organist-in-residence at Harlem’s SMOKE jazz club.

Emmet Cohen – piano

Kyle Pool – drums

Yasushi Nakamura – bass

The Four Freshmen:

To many music enthusiasts, The Four Freshmen need no introduction. Starting as college students in 1948, the young group won fame with their renditions of “Graduation Day,” “Poinciana,” “Day by Day” and “It’s a Blue World.” Stan Kenton played a major role in advancing the early career of The Four
Freshmen, and their unique sound strongly influenced other vocal groups, such as Manhattan Transfer, Take 6 and the Beach Boys. Although the names and faces have changed over the last nearly 75 years, the harmony and legendary sound of The Four Freshmen continue to fascinate audiences worldwide. The Four Freshmen style has been responsible for over 50 albums, 70 top selling singles and six Grammy nominations. Voted as Downbeat Magazine’s Vocal Group of the Year in 2000 and 2001 and Vocal Group of the Year for 2007 by Jazz Times magazine, they received the “Satchmo” award in 2010 and were presented with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 2013.

Today’s Four Freshmen ensemble is considered by many to be the greatest jazz vocal group of all time. The current quartet consists of highly educated, musically diverse young men who provide their own accompaniment. They not only preserve the Freshmen sound, they enhance it with their youth, vitality and talent, giving new treatments to the Great American Songbook. They continue to tour worldwide with sold-out audiences, sharing their unique brand of magnetism, stage presence and approach to The Four Freshmen standards.

Jake Baldwin
Tommy Boynton
Bob Ferreira
Ryan Howe