So, three Cohens walk into a bar…
Ok, so it’s not the greatest start of a joke. What we’ve got here are sister Anat/cl-ts with brothers Yuval/ss and Avishai/tp sharing ideas on 18, count ‘em 18 different different tunes. Sometimes you have straight songs, such as Art Farmer’s “Blueport” or Gerry Mulligan’s “Festive Minor” as well as a creative take of “Hot House,” and other times it’s a mix of “Conversations” where you just never know where the tune will go. Fred Hersch brings his piano in for a clever “I Mean You” and passionate “Estate,” Johnathan Blake drums away on “Black” with Avishai and Christian McBride brings his bass to a lovely “Just Squeeze Me.” The sounds are wonderful, but you’re going to ultimately judge this session’s merits on your affinity to informal family reunions, as that is the major theme here. An hour’s worth of mishpucha?
Anzic Records