Anat Cohen

Anat Cohen is as comfortable with Brazilian choro as she is with straight-ahead swing. Her performances are flavored with Middle Eastern folk forms, with klezmer, funk, tango, and rock. Tunes by Benny Goodman or Stan Kenton pop up in her repertoire alongside Balkan dirges and breezy bossa novas. When she moved to New York in 1999, she made a name for herself as a saxophonist. But over the years, Cohen (raised in Tel Aviv) has moved ever closer to her original instrument, the clarinet, which she plays with virtuoso command – and pure gusto. During her 2023 residency, Cohen will explore a variety of group settings. One evening will be devoted to the art of the duo — intimate, direct, intense. There will be a night for trio, another for quartet, yet another that pairs Cohen with guitarists. She is a great listener, always feeding off her fellow musicians’ ideas. The music becomes a conversation, full of humor, beauty, and surprise. Regardless of the setting, Cohen brings a sense of unbridled freedom and joy to her art.