Greg Cohen

Greg Cohen
Masada in concert: Joey Baron (drums), Greg Cohen (bass), Dave Douglas (trumpet), John Zorn (saxophone)
Masada in concert: Joey Baron (drums), Greg Cohen (bass), Dave Douglas (trumpet), John Zorn (saxophone)
Background information
Born (1953-07-13) July 13, 1953 (age 71)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresJazz, jazz fusion
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Bass guitar, double bass

Greg Cohen (born July 13, 1953) is an American jazz bassist who has been a member of John Zorn's Masada quartet and worked with numerous other noted musicians for over four decades.

Career

Cohen plays traditional jazz and other styles, including work with Ken Peplowski, Kenny Davern, Marty Grosz, and Woody Allen. He has also worked with Tom Waits, David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Dagmar Krause, David Sanborn, Susana Baca, Gal Costa, Marisa Monte, Laurie Anderson, Willie Nelson, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Dave Douglas, Tricky, Jesse Harris, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts, Joey Baron, Donovan, Crystal Gayle, Bob Dylan, Nina Nastasia, Alan Watts, Lee Konitz, Richie Havens, Dino Saluzzi, Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Odetta, Vesna Pisarović, Danny Barker, Tim Sparks, and Antony and the Johnsons.

In August 2006 he was musical director of the Century of Song series at the German arts festival RuhrTriennale. He invited songwriters and performers such as David Byrne, Holly Cole and Laurie Anderson.

He has been a regular member of Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band, which played at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan. He appeared in the documentary Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) about a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band. Cohen appears in Robert Altman's 1993 film Short Cuts.[1]

Cohen is a bass professor and the head of string department at the Jazz Institute Berlin.[2] He is also an honorary professor in contemporary rhythmic music at SDMK - Danish National Academy of Music.[3][4]

Discography

As leader

  • Way Low (DIW, 1996)
  • Moment to Moment (DIW, 1998)
  • Golden State (Relative Pitch, 2014)[5]

As sideman

With Terry Adams

With Laurie Anderson

With Elvis Costello

With Christina Courtin

  • Christina Courtin (Nonesuch Records, 2009)
  • Situation Station (In A Circle, 2020)

With A. J. Croce

  • Twelve Tales (Compass, 2013)

With Dave Douglas

With Marty Grosz

  • (The Orphan Newsboys) Extra! (Jazzology, 1989)
  • Unsaturated Fats (Stomp Off, 1990)
  • (The Orphan Newsboys) Laughing at Life (Stomp Off, 1990)
  • Donaldson Redux (Stomp Off, 1991)
  • Songs I Learned at My Mother's Knee and Other Low Joints (Jazzology, 1992)
  • (The Orphan Newsboys) Live at the L.A. Classic (Jazzology, 1992)
  • Thanks (J&M, 1993)
  • (The Orphan Newsboys) Rhythm for Sale! (Jazzology, 1993, 1995, 1996)
  • Just Imagine … Songs of DeSylva, Brown & Henderson (Stomp Off, 1994)
  • Keep a Song in Your Soul (Jazzology, 1994)
  • Ring Dem Bells (Nagel Heyer, 1995)
  • Going Hollywood (Stomp Off, 1996)
  • Left to His Own Devices (Jazzology, 1999)
  • Marty Grosz and His Hot Combination (Arbors, 2005)

With Tim Sparks

With Tom Waits

With Victoria Williams

With John Zorn

With others

References

  1. ^ "Short Cuts / Robert Altman / 1993". filmsdefrance.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27.
  2. ^ "Jazz Institute Berlin".
  3. ^ "Syddansk Musikkonservatorium: Topbassist tilknyttes konservatoriet". www.sdmk.dk. Archived from the original on 2018-10-05.
  4. ^ Stewart, Zan. "The state of jazz: Meet 40 more Jersey greats" Archived 2008-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, The Star-Ledger, September 28, 2003. Accessed October 11, 2015. "Cohen, a resident of Summit, is one of the most versatile of modern bassists."
  5. ^ "Greg Cohen - Golden State". Archived from the original on 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
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