Avishai Cohen: 'Ashes to Gold'
I'm glad that I delayed reviewing this album to the start of 2025, despite receiving a copy of it a couple of months ago. 'Ashes to Gold' from trumpeter Avishai Cohen seems to offer new hope in a troubled world. Some surprising and entrancing elements of this album bring a real sense of joy and inspiration.
The five-part suite that forms Ashes to Gold begins with the unexpected sound of the trumpeter band leader on flute in a quasi-classical exposition that bursts into what is unashamedly jazz. In these days of shuffle, you can do nothing better than follow the five movements through from this rather wonderful band. For this album Avishai Cohen (trumpet, flugelhorn, flute) and has brought together Yonathan Avishai (piano), Barak Mori (double bass) and Ziv Ravitz (drums).
The five-part suite that forms Ashes to Gold begins with the unexpected sound of the trumpeter band leader on flute in a quasi-classical exposition that bursts into what is unashamedly jazz. In these days of shuffle, you can do nothing better than follow the five movements through from this rather wonderful band. For this album Avishai Cohen (trumpet, flugelhorn, flute) and has brought together Yonathan Avishai (piano), Barak Mori (double bass) and Ziv Ravitz (drums).
The title and imagery of Ashes to Gold comes from the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi, where broken ceramics are repaired using gold to make something beautiful. Avishai Cohen says: “In a way I think that’s where we dwell. Our reality. And although this music can’t help but reflect the times, it also – in my wishful imagination - has some hope to it. At least, it is not only dark.”
This is, at least in part, Cohen's response to the events in Israel on 7 October 2023. He says: “I could not write anything. I couldn’t touch the trumpet. In the beginning of November, I told Yonathan [pianist Yonathan Avishai] that I was going to have to cancel the tour and the recording, but he said ‘No. We need to go and play music’. The way he said it was powerful. I knew he was right.”
Concluding the album is The Seventh, composed by Avishai Cohen’s teenaged daughter Amalia and just before it comes the astonishingly beautiful Adagio assai from Maurice Ravel’s G Major piano concerto. It is a composition Avishai Cohen has long admired. “I listened to it practically non-stop through the Covid years, especially Martha Argerich’s version. At home I would play along to Martha’s recording of it.”
This is, at least in part, Cohen's response to the events in Israel on 7 October 2023. He says: “I could not write anything. I couldn’t touch the trumpet. In the beginning of November, I told Yonathan [pianist Yonathan Avishai] that I was going to have to cancel the tour and the recording, but he said ‘No. We need to go and play music’. The way he said it was powerful. I knew he was right.”
Concluding the album is The Seventh, composed by Avishai Cohen’s teenaged daughter Amalia and just before it comes the astonishingly beautiful Adagio assai from Maurice Ravel’s G Major piano concerto. It is a composition Avishai Cohen has long admired. “I listened to it practically non-stop through the Covid years, especially Martha Argerich’s version. At home I would play along to Martha’s recording of it.”
Ashes to Gold really is a beautiful contribution to these turbulent times and I would highly recommend listening to the entire album in the order the artist has selected. Each track seems to evolve from the previous one, finally taking Amalia Cohen's composition to reveal the gold of Avishai's trumpet and the trio alongside him.
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