Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Lorin Cohen: Home

6

Lorin Cohen: Home

By

Sign in to view read count
Lorin Cohen: Home
What's "home?" Is it where somebody's born and raised? Is it where a person resides at a given time? Or is it any place where an individual finds a high level of comfort, joy, and possibility? For Lorin Cohen, it's all three. This talented bassist-composer makes that fact plainly apparent on this, his leader debut.

With Home, Cohen pays tribute to the city that fostered his musical growth and development through childhood (Chicago), the metropolis where he currently hangs his hat (New York City), and a region full of ripe musical wonders (the Caribbean). The influence or connection to said locales is often east to spot, as on the vibrant, tropically-tinged "Saudade" and the equally sunny "A Brighter Day," but that's not always the case. Cohen's viewpoint on New York, in particular, is incredibly complex, mutable and personalized. Sure, he gets to the heart of the hard-edged sound of Gotham, but he also finds beauty in that grand city's relentlessness. "Crossings," which opens with rumblings, speaks with melodic clarity, and carries weight, is but one example of how Cohen paints The Big Apple in a different light; "The Hero's Journey," with metric shifts, groove alterations, and tight turns, is another. And then there's Chicago, represented by the touching "The Sweetest Soul (For My Father)." Cohen's heartfelt arco work sells that one at the start, and a less-is-more mindset carries it through.

In putting together this project, Cohen found the perfect musicians to bring his vision to life. Drummer Donald Edwards marries drive, attitude, and precision in his work; percussionist Samuel Torres knows how to accentuate the rhythmic language in a piece without being too heavy-handed; rising star steel pan ace Victor Provost brings zest to the Caribbean-influenced material and beauty to "The Sweetest Soul (For My Father)"; and under-the-radar harmonica player Yvonnick Prene is all breezy charm whenever he appears. Two of Cohen's sometime employers—vibraphonist Joe Locke and pianist Ryan Cohan—round out the group, each bringing their unique gifts to bear on his music: Locke's intricate lines, melodic directness, and mile-a-minute runs never fail to excite, and Cohan brings incredible range to the music, delivering probing thoughts, reflective notions, and all-in attitude. When these voices are married to Cohen's bass—pliant and soulful one moment, fierce and feisty the next—the results are 100% positive.

Track Listing

Crossings; Always In My Heart; Finding Center; Anthem; The Sweetest Soul (For My Father); Saudade; The Hero's Journey; A Brighter Day.

Personnel

Lorin Cohen; bass; Ryan Cohan: piano, keyboards (5); Donald Edwards: drums; Joe Locke: vibraphone; Yvonnick Prene: harmonica; Victor Provost: steel pan; Samuel Torres: percussion

Album information

Title: Home | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Origin Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.