Anat Cohen Tentet - Happy Song (2017/2019) [Hi-Res]

With the Tentet, “the aim was to create the smallest, most flexible large ensemble we could,” Oded Lev-Ari explains, “and I think the band really lets Anat be free in her playing and selection of repertoire – it’s an extraordinarily versatile band of musical omnivores, happy to go wherever the music takes them. The group’s balance between freedom and interactivity, individual expression and stylistic diversity – that mirrors Anat as a musician. Moreover, this band allows us to express our ideas about the inclusiveness, universality and openness of music, and how it should be a vehicle for connecting with listeners not just on the basis of genre and style, but on the basis of emotion and feeling.

Clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over with her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence. Reviewing one of Anat's headlining sets with her quartet at the North See Jazz Festival, DownBeat said: "Cohen not only proved to be a woodwind revelation of dark tones and delicious lyricism, but also a dynamic bandleader who danced and shouted out encouragement to her group whooping it up when pianist Jason Lindner followed her clarinet trills on a Latin-flavored number. . . With her dark, curly, shoulder-length hair swaying to the beat as she danced, she was a picture of joy."

"The world of legitimate jazz does not have many stars. Anat Cohen is one." (Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes)

2Happy Song bounces and swings with all the warmth its title promises." (Geno Thackara, All About Jazz)

"All of the moods are held together with Cohen's joyful lyricism, creating a totality of rich flavors in one pot. A musical E Pluribus Unum." (George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly)

Anat Cohen, clarinet
Oded Lev-Ari, musical director
Rubin Kodheli, cello
Nadje Noordhuis, trumpet, flügelhorn
Nick Finzer, trombone
Owen Broder, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
James Shipp, vibraphone, percussion
Vitor Gonçalves, piano, accordion
Sheryl Bailey, guitar
Tal Mashiach, bass
Anthony Pinciotti, drums

Recorded by Brian Montgomery at Avatar Studios, NYC, August 2016
Mixed by Brian Montgomery, NYC, January 2017
Mastered by Mark Wilder January 2017
Produced by Anat Cohen & Oded Lev-Ari