NEW RELEASE – TOMER COHEN

Israeli New Yorker Tomer Cohen hits his stride, refining his folkish, Middle-Eastern-flavored brand of contemporary jazz.

Cohen’s sophomore effort builds on the promise of his debut album Not The Same River, adding a level of intensity to his sensitive sense of serenity. Cohen developed an ingenious style of finger pickin’, enabling him to combine melodic patterns with harmonies, the result of which, coupled with the interactive crew of pianist Shai Maestro, bassist Cyrille Obermüller, drummer Gert-Jan Dreessen, is an evocative palette of songs, mysterious and crystal clear at once.

His is a universal story of heritage, exile, bonding, longing. Carried away by Cohen’s nicely flowing narrative, one can’t help but imagine hills half-covered in fuzzy fog, goats munching on hill-side grass, stoically, the gatekeepers of God’s little acre… Mothers stomping on wood board floors, their sweet breath mingling with the scent of sourdough bread, a boy on the porch, overlooking the river Jordan… And a torrent of manna sweeping over Manhattan, the great equalizer, covering cabs, streets, skyscrapers, a smog of joy.

One can’t help but like the epic Story Of A Traveler, a strummed melody that segues into a lively encounter with Obermüller’s bass, into uproar, into subtle tempo changes, a chapter of adventurous traveling; the lively Moving Pictures and Maestro’s meandering lines answering the questions of Cohen’s lyrical phrases; the Nick Drake-ish, moody A View; the bittersweet Bait (Home), with its tender guitar patterns that conjure up mama’s warm embrace.

He’s not laying it on thick, Cohen’s internalizing of lineage is subtle, intense but still pleasant to the ear.

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Check out Tomer’s website here: https://www.tomercohenmusic.com/

Find Story Of A Traveler on Hypnote Records here: https://www.hypnoterecords.com/hr038-en.html 

Listen to Story Of A Traveler on YouTube below: