The 3 Cohens: Interaction

As a thriving collective, the 3 Cohens have recorded four outstanding studio albums over the first quarter of the 21st century: the self-produced One (2003), 2007's Braid, 2011's Family and 2013's Tightrope, (last three released by Anzic Records, the label founded by clarinetist Anat Cohen with kindred-spirit producer-collaborator Oded Lev-Ari). Dipping, darting, diving, the 3 Cohens have crisscrossed the global stage, bringing their joyful high-flying interplay to Brazil, New York, Europe and Australia. Searing, swerving and soaring, trumpeter Avishai Cohen's revved-up swing testament, "Shufla de Shufla" opens the first live sibling recording so tight and on the money that it is a sure bet to win party record of the year wherever awards are given.

Recorded in front of a packed post-pandemic house at Cologne's Kölner Philharmonie in June 2022, the three spirited Cohens—Avishai, Anat and soprano saxophonist Yuval Cohen—then high-dive with a "Tiger Rag" for the ages. Each solo is a playful poke in the ribs, as the WDR Big Band tightens the groove on every bar. Louis Armstrong is smiling in heaven somewhere.

In a moment of truly animated brilliance, conductor/arranger and 4th-Cohen whiz kid Lev-Ari hurls the whole ensemble into the breach, curating a run of brilliant music-making replete with Avisahi's echoey minimalism ("Naked Truth Part 2), Gerry Mulligan's "Festive Minor 1" (taken here dancehall acapella by the three) and Lev-Ari's brooding jam-band-inspired "Thrills and Thrills 1." Led by Anat's jumpy joyful mood swings and her brothers' avid responses and complemented by a horn section hell-bent on shaking the rafters, "Footsteps and Smiles" closes Interaction with a sizzling rush of excitement not soon to be recreated.

So should one find oneself or one's partner, coworker, union sibling, sports bro or dejected congressperson in need of a party record at any time from this tense point in our overall decline onward, look no further. Interaction delivers a rousing set so in your face that it brings the whole dang party to your front door.

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