Emmet Cohen continues to stride forward

The New York-based jazz pianist and composer performs at Café Coda on April 6 and 7.

Pianist and composer Emmet Cohen has been one of the more recognizable figures in contemporary jazz over the past several years. Bolstered by the breakout success of Live From Emmet’s Place, a live-streamed performance series, Cohen’s popularity is a distinction that has been earned through a tenacious commitment to excellence. (I have personally tuned into the series a number of times since its January 2021 launch and have been consistently awed by both the production quality and the performances.) Cohen’s also responsible for the Masters Legacy Series, in which he plays and collaborates with a number of jazz masters, in an effort to continue honing his craft as he learns from some of the genre’s most vaunted figures (the late Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, and Benny Golson have all participated, among others).

On Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, Cohen will be leading the Emmet Cohen Trio—with bassist Phillip Norris and drummer Kyle Poole—over the course of three shows at Café Coda. The late-breaking announcement of the Saturday show came shortly after news of Sunday’s early show sellout, with the late show likely set to follow suit. In a nice twist, Café Coda is offering a package deal for Saturday’s show that will also include a 6 p.m. performance by Madison-based saxophonist Anders Svanoe‘s ASTRO that effectively creates a small discount.*

The cost of admission will be well worth what audiences should expect to receive in return. Cohen has repeatedly proven to be one of the genre’s most personable and prodigious contemporary talents. There’s an awareness of scope embedded into Cohen’s work that accounts for and celebrates the historical underpinnings of jazz, while using that knowledge to shape the genre’s future. It’s a precarious balance, but one that Cohen has demonstrated a near mastery of across the discography he’s amassed as a bandleader.

Ever since 2010’s In The Element, Cohen’s all-encompassing understanding of the form has been evident, with future releases driving that home point further. Future Stride and Uptown In Orbit, Cohen’s last two studio releases, are littered with eye-popping phrases, razor-sharp dynamics, and hairpin tempo changes that are commanded with graceful panache. (Future Stride‘s title track, especially, features a number of genuinely dazzling runs, changes, and extended figures.) At only 33 years old, Cohen’s reputation and history already far outpace his age.

As Cohen continues to celebrate and learn from the past through his collaborative legacy series, he’s been integrating that knowledge with an unavoidable sense of modernity in his original work, up to and including the Live From Emmet’s Place performance series. Audience members fortunate enough to snag a seat for one of these shows are set to see something Madisonians may be talking about for years to come, as Cohen continues to stride his way into the future.  

*For those looking to keep track of the various admission breakdowns and the shows that remain on sale, the info is as follows:

Saturday, April 6, 6 p.m.: ASTRO. $10.
Saturday, April 6, 8:30 p.m.: Emmet Cohen Trio. $37.50.

The package deal that includes both Saturday performances: $45.00.

Sunday April 7, 9:15 p.m.: $37.50.

If you are a student, there will be a student discount available that requires proof of ID at the door, which will effectively drop the regular $37.50 admission price to $30. (Cohen will also be leading an educational workshop on Sunday afternoon for local jazz students.)