Clarinetist Anat Cohen's transcendent appearances with the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra last February are still resonating.
"I loved the trip to Seattle, loved meeting all the people there, the SRJO and other musicians. It was great time, and a wonderful hang," she said. "Everybody there is so nice.”
Her latest CD, "Luminosa" features a number of beautiful Brazilian melodies. Anat first encountered the varied styles of Brazilian music when she was a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
"I met some Brazilian musicians and they invited me to play in different shows with them, and I just fell in love with the music and the people, the whole culture and language,” she said.
“The language — everything about it sounded so mysterious and musical,” said Cohen. “Also, Brazilian people are very similar in their behavior to the Israeli people, very physical, similar expressions...I felt so comfortable.
“I wanted to be part of it and learn more about it, so I pursued it as much as I could, immersed myself in it for 15 years. I went to Brazil a bunch of times and learned the language. I fell in love with it,” she said.
Cohen is always an exuberant player, but playing Brazilian music lifts her to higher level of joy. It's something she's started to recognize and think about.
"I wonder why it is, and how I can have this feeling everywhere, every time, in every musical situation and personal situation,” she said. “It's a challenge.”
Cohen will be busy during this visit to Seattle for the Earshot Jazz Festival, starting with a recently-added concert on November 9 at the PONCHO Concert Hall at Cornish College of the Arts. She'll be doing a master class at noon on November 10 at Cornish, then she'll bring her quartet to KPLU for a live Studio Session at 2 p.m., and finally the second (sold out) Earshot Jazz Festival Concert at PONCHO Concert Hall at 8 p.m.
Listen for some music from Anat Cohen's CD "Luminosa" on this week's Jazz Caliente, Thursday at 2 p.m. on KPLU.
