Home » Member Page

R. I. Sutherland-Cohen

About Me

R. I. Sutherland-Cohen lives in New York City. He is a Professor Emeritus and former Associate Professor and Production Manager for the Department of Theater at Brooklyn College. Following his college years (Bachelor of Science in Mathematics – Northeastern University and Master of Fine Arts in Directing – Boston University) he has stage managed numerous productions on Broadway, over forty operas for New York City Opera, and theatrical productions throughout the world. His production management credits include Lincoln Center Festivals, HOWL! Festivals, ten years as Entertainment Operations Manager for the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Associate Producer/Writer for Westinghouse Television’s syndicated series Earth Lab, as well overseeing a wide-range of special live- performance events.

Highlights of R. I. Sutherland-Cohen’s photography pursuits are an extensive solo showing in the Living Room Gallery for the Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter’s Church in New York City, September – October, 2010 and at the Berlitz Language Center / Rockefeller Center, June-July 2013. Previously his photos have been exhibited in a Lincoln Center showing of employees’ photographs, and in an exhibition of jazz photographs at the Hot Summer Jazz Festival in Minneapolis, as well as inclusions in the Collections of Paul Simon, Winona Ryder, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Through association with Beat writers, the Allen Ginsberg Trust has reproduced Robert’s photographs in Screaming with Joy: The Life of Allen Ginsberg by Graham Caveny. His selected photos have appeared in Bill Morgan’s book “Beats Across America.”

As a jazz photographer Robert's photos are regularly included “The New York City Jazz Record,” “Jazz Times,” “Jazz Inside,” and the international publications: “Jazz Journal,” “Wire,” “Jazz Magazine,” and “Jazzman.”

It is over this lengthy production career mounting live performance productions that Robert developed his visual sense of arrangement, composition, light and shadow. In a parallel soundscape for his own inner life he has been capturing the fleeting moments that characterize the highest edges of jazz and blues. He has translated some of these recent moments to the Jazz Expressions website.

My Jazz Story

I was first exposed to jazz...while I was a teen and worked as a salesperson in my cousin's Boston music store. The best show I ever attended were John Coltrane gigs while I was in college The first jazz record I bought was...Charles Mingus Ah Um