Avishai Cohen – Eternal Child

Description

Avishai Cohen returns with Eternal Child, honouring the legacy of Chick Corea.

Featuring Itay Simhovich (piano), Eviatar Slivnik (drums) and special guest JeffBallard, the album bridges generations through bold compositions. From intimatelyricism to explosive rhythmic precision. Avishai Cohen delivers a masterclass inmodern jazz that is both timeless and transformative.

For once, Avishai confides, the album title isnt one of my own compositions. Thattitle, Eternal Child, was penned by the legendary Chick Corea – a figure whoremains one of the most decisive, life-altering encounters of Avishais career. To him,the name carries a profound, soulful weight. Remaining an eternal child is the lot ofmany artists, he says. Those are the lucky ones.

The choice became undeniable the moment he saw a photograph of himself at agefour or five – the same image that now graces the album cover. The gaze isunmistakable; fifty years later, that same spark burns just as bright. What I notice inthat photo is the sense of wonder in my eyes. I was a daydreamer. I loved nature.Today, I remain fascinated by it, by music, and by everything magical. And in thosechilds eyes, I can already see a zest for life, play and a hunger for curiosity.

At the heart of this record is a youthful trio: pianist Itay Simhovich (22) and drummerEviatar Slivnik (30). What strikes you immediately is Avishai Cohens evident returnto jazz – a move he fully embraces and claims: Its the most jazz album Ive made todate.

While Itay Simhovich and Eviatar Slivnik belong to a new generation, their DNA is
deeply rooted in the heavy-hitting traditions of Miles Davis, the Jazz Messengers and
the trios of Bill Evans or Ahmad Jamal. Within this classic colouring, however, thecontinuity of Avishais own musical universe remains seamless and strikingly
modern.

The icing on the cake is the presence of a second drummer, Jeff Ballard. I wantedthe choice between Jeff and Eviatar without anything being predetermined. It evolvedthrough the studio takes. Jeff joined us on the third day. On Sliv El, the trio startedwith Eviatar and we ended as a duo – Jeff on drums and me on piano. I imaginedbringing both drummers together at least once, just to shake up our habits. It wasalso a way to remember the very beginning of my history with Jeff; after I introducedhim to Chick, we used to rehearse as a duo in his Brooklyn apartment. He had aFender Rhodes there, and thats how I first introduced him to my compositions.

The ten tracks on the album share a common thread: each corresponds to someonein Avishais circle or an intimate story.

These ten variations are bathed in a sun-drenched jazz, revolving around AvishaiCohens two unbreakable fundamentals: groove and melody. When Chick decidedto record my band and first album, he then created his own band, Origin, with a lineup which consisted of members almost entirely from my own band, it was a greatcompliment to me. Since then, I have recorded over 20 albums and never stopped.Eternal Child reflects all of my musical endeavours and brings me to now. I hopeyou enjoy. – Avishai

Tracklist:

SIMCHOVER
EL BAZITA
MY BRUES
TONIGHT
MR GOOD SIR
HUMBLY YOURS
LOOKIE
ETERNAL CHILD
SLIV EL
CLOSURE