The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Any other Joe Cohn fans here? I'd been aware of his name for some time (as a result of Pat Metheny's recommendation on his site) but have only very recently checked out his music. Picked up his two albums as a leader on Criss Cross. I was missing out! Some GREAT bop playing.

    There's not much writing about him online. Looks like he doesn't play outside NYC too often. Great player and worth checking out. His work on Criss Cross (as a leader, with Peter Beets, Grant Stewart etc) is all on Spotify.

    Pat Metheny's a fan:
    Joe is an unbelievable improviser, He has always been great and seems to be kicking everything to even higher levels recently. After seeing him this summer I walked away from his performance with such a stong sense of who he has become as a person through his music. He was able to keep ideas going and flowing and turned sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into stories. For me, that quality is the most rare thing to find and almost appears to be a dying art sometimes. His quartet with Harry Allen is one of the best bands out there right now (with Harry himself being another of the keepers of the narrative flame) and is well worth checking out - but the record listed here is one of Joe's most recent solo records.
    From Pat Metheny Recommends



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  3. #2

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    Joe's a remarkable and mercurial figure in the jazz guitar world. I listen to him and I say "it's not fair!" And then he picks up the trumpet, which he plays with equal fluidity, creativity and mastery. Then I say "IT'S NOT FAIR!"
    He was steeped in the jazz tradition from the time he was born. His father is none other than the legendary Al Cohn, but really, Joe's from another planet.
    David

  4. #3

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    Great player, and of course his Dad was a giant as well. You can catch the quartet deal with Harry Allen in NYC pretty frequently. Here's a great recording, Joe on guitar. One of my favorites:

    Amazon.com: Cool: The Jay Leonhart Trio: Music

  5. #4
    Dutchbopper Guest
    I have a number of live vids of Joe Cohn with Peter Beets and MVI in my Blog. They are only to be found if you have the link. They are not public. Check them out here:

    Dutchbopper: Bop Till You Drop

    Dutchbopper: Bop Till You Drop 2: More MVI and Joe Cohn

    Which reminds me that I still have to post the rest of the show!

    Regards,

    Dick

  6. #5

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    That drummer is awesome.
    Playing at this tempo (1st video) gives me trouble. Just a little slower and I can handle it but it's discouraging trying to play this quick.

  7. #6

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    I accidentally stumbled into one of his shows a few years back and I think it was with Harry Allen. I was so totally amazed at his ideas and his passion. He is simply amazing.

  8. #7

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    'And then he picks up the trumpet, which he plays with equal fluidity, creativity and mastery'

    if I'm not mistaken he also plays bass and piano [classical also] quite well.
    speaking to him on break of a gig he was working w/Al Grey about 15-20 yrs ago, he said that Al would routinely fire him when he got a lot of the applause and then rehire him a few days later. he was playing superbly then, already a great guitarist

    Joe's relatively an under-the-radar kind of guy as far as notoriety, but certainly not among the musicians in the jazz community....

  9. #8

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    Great session. Thank you Dick. Two corrections: Parker 51 is from the pen of Jimmy Raney, not Stan Getz, and Joe Cohn's guitar is a L-5 CES, not a Byrdland.
    Best regards,
    Alain

  10. #9

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    Last edited by David B; 03-03-2013 at 01:43 PM.

  11. #10

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    Last edited by David B; 03-03-2013 at 01:44 PM.

  12. #11

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    Joe and I had a duo in Boston many years ago, we opened for the LA Four with Laurindo Almeida and got to play a tune with Ray Brown. Joe always had his eye on an L5. I'm very happy for his success, he was rather hyperactive in the early days, and found it difficult to settle into any one style or group. His harmonic sense is very advanced, and it was always ear and mind-expanding to play with him.

  13. #12

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    Hi everyone!
    what kind of strings use Joe Cohn? i don't think flat wounds...

  14. #13
    That's a nice florentine cutaway L-5..

  15. #14

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    Thought I would resurrect this thread to share details of two new/recent releases under Joe Cohn's name that I stumbled across today on CD Baby and am very happy I did!

    'Emeryville Sessions, Vol 1: Marathon Man'
    (organ trio date)
    CDBaby: Joe Cohn | Emeryville Sessions, Vol. 1: Marathon Man | CD Baby Music Store

    'Emeryville Sessions, Vol 2: 'S'posin'
    (trio of sax, bass, guitar)
    CDBaby: Joe Cohn, Noel Jewkes & John Wiitala | S'posin': The Emeryville Sessions, Vol. 2 | CD Baby Music Store

    Both albums are also on Spotify.

  16. #15

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  17. #16

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    I love his solo on Parker's 'Barbados'.


  18. #17

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    JC is state of the art AFAIC.

  19. #18

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    Bump for some fresh Cohn:


  20. #19

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    Thanks for posting this!
    Joe Cohn is one of my favorites and his playing here is great.
    Last edited by maggles55; 06-13-2018 at 02:43 PM.

  21. #20

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    Joe's daughter Shaye is carrying on the tradition. She's becoming well-known in New Orleans with her trad jazz band Tuba Skinny. She plays mostly cornet, but also trombone, piano, violin, and perhaps more. She has an absolutely devoted following on YouTube.

  22. #21

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    little teaser from great album

    joe cohn & doug raney- two funky people-



    cheers

  23. #22
    Really! Joe is a funny guy. So, this is the story. I met Joe in my very own family home back in '76. My good childhood friend Bob Homan attended Berklee for 2 years - '75/'76 and '76/'77. During one of his breaks, I'm pretty sure it was Thanksgiving, he came by my house with his new friend Joe. Joe was hyper and all he wanted to do was play. So, we played. It was intense for me because Joe is the real thing. I was just getting started so I was feeling delicate. Joe played like a demon and he was nothing but pleasant and over the top with compliments. He became one of my favorite people. Now this is funny because Bob dropped out just as I was going into Berklee in the fall of '77. The part that's funny is that my dorm room was the very same room Bob was in just prior. I learned this from Joe as he was still in school when I began. I don't know but I guess I am a year younger than Bob and Joe. Joe was very active at Berklee in '77/'78. I can't remember the succession but he was staying in I believe Watertown at first and then moved to Brighton. Joe was playing a Guild Starfire IV or V at the time. I'm pretty sure it had the Bigsby. He was very active with the big band (Herb Pomeroy) and he had very regular recitals at 1140/1A, a modest performance space. His recitals were great and each one featured a different soloist.....people like Mike Lawrence (alto), Olivier Peters (tenor), Hendrik Meurkens (vibes), Ed Tomassi (tenor) and Eric Marienthal. These performances were smokin'! These guys were unbelievable! I have the tapes and Berklee should have them in the library. My roommates didn't like it but we did have the space for Joe to keep some equipment in the dorm room to keep close at hand. I'm pretty sure he used a Twin Reverb and so that stayed with me as well as his Fender bass. Other posters are correct. Joe played bass as well as trumpet or cornet, an instrument he started on a little later. I don't remember him playing piano but I do remember him taking me to see Olivier Peters play one. OP played piano like the other OP, Oscar Peterson. It was incredible and Joe was amazed. Joe was and is all about the music. He played that Guild for awhile but he soon moved on to an ES175. Anyway, it's great to see that Joe has fans. He certainly deserves it. We all need to get out there and support Joe Cohn. Take it from Pat Metheny. Joe is one of the greats!

  24. #23

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    Joe appears as part of a French quartet led by saxophonist Nicolas Dary on 2014's 'U Babbu'. I just obtained a copy.

    NOT easy to track down - no digital outlets that I can find - but a worthy addition to Joe Cohn's too-slim discography (I can't find him on anything since 2015's four sets of 'Emeryville Sessions'.

    Solid tenor-led straight ahead session. The album notes say nothing about the date, but all the tunes sound like contrafacts - something of the titles are obvious giveaways, other are more obtuse.
    Last edited by David B; 07-29-2019 at 03:18 PM.

  25. #24

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    I found a lot of videos of Dary with the Grasso brothers on YouTube, but nothing with Cohn. I think you're right, that is a rather obscure album. That's a shame.

  26. #25

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    Easier to find from the same year are Joe's two releases as a leader, 'Marathon Man' (a quartet with organist Joe Bagg, drummer Akira Tana and Dayna Stephens on tenor) and 'S'posin' (with saxophonist Noel Jewkes and bassist John Wiitala).

    Joe Cohn | Emeryville Sessions, Vol. 1: Marathon Man | CD Baby Music Store

    Joe Cohn, Noel Jewkes & John Wiitala | S'posin': The Emeryville Sessions, Vol. 2 | CD Baby Music Store