Album Reviews

Avishai Cohen takes us Into the Silence

Israeli trumpeter Avishai Cohen makes his leader debut on ECM with Into The Silence. The album features pianist Yonathan Avishai, drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Eric Revis, known for his work with the Branford Marsalis Quartet along with Sax from Bill McHenry. The understanding between Cohen and Waits occasionally recalls the relationship between Miles Davis and Tony Williams or Don Cherry and Billy Higgins. The album is dedicated to his late father, David.
We can say that in some ways, Cohen‘s move toward a more classical, ambient sound makes sense, as he is recording material specifically with the ECM stylistic tradition in mind. Sadly, Cohen also composed these songs in the wake of his father’s death, and the trumpeter’s grief seems to permeate everything on Into the Silence. He even bookends the album with the funereal “Life and Death,” in which he moans, Miles Davis-like, through muted trumpet, his band in a slow march beside him.
The intro section of “Dream Like A Child” lasts for seven minutes, during which time Waits can be heard doing exemplary work on cymbals and soft tom rolls that nearly steals all the focus away from Avishai’s classically-minded outflowing of chords. Cohen’s and McHenry’s entry signal the thematic part of the tune, as Waits is limbers up even further. Cohen more than makes up for a delayed entrance by sublime trumpet playing, minding tone as much as technique, while McHenry assists in a harmonizing role.
“Into The Silence” shows off Waits’ ingenuity seductively. He generates a current of restlessness, either providing small cues that alters the direction of the song or giving shape to that new direction. His pure tone beautifully adorns the melody of “Behind The Broken Glass” and McHenry offers a soul-laden counterpoint.