[Dixielandjazz] Support live jazz

[Marek Boym]

Last night (Wednesday), some friends and I went to hear Anat Cohen
with the Tel-Aviv Big Band - actually - the Stricker (not sure of the
spelling - I only know it in Hebrew) Conservatory, the first concert
of the Givatayim Theatre Jazz Festival, and its only OKOM feature.
Anat Cohen, for those who don't know, is an Israeli musician who has
resided in the US for quite while.  She played - or still plays - with
the all girl band Diva, and has recorded with a small contingent from
that band, Five Play, with which she played at Caesarea a few years
ago.  Ms. Cohen comes from a musical family - she has two jazz playing
brothers (although hardly OKOM), Yuval who plays trumpet in New York
and Avishay who is a saxophonist, and also the director of the
Stricker big band.  She was also voted Clarinetist of the Year in
2008, 2009, and 2010 by the Jazz Journalists Association.


The concert itself was a mixed bag: the band was lacking in the swing
department.  A double bass and a guitar are not enough to make a big
band swing, and neither of the two alternating drummers was of much
help, even though one was better than the other.  However, once Ms.
Cohen came on stage, things changed: the moment she put the clarinet
to her mouth and started playing, the band seemed to have undergone a
metamorphosis.  Her powerful swing and charisma carried over, and the
band swung like mad, despite the heavy druming.  Whether on clarinet
or on tenor saxophone, Ms. Cohen sounded great!  Even on such unlikely
numbers like Johnny Griffin's "Do it" she sounded a swing, not a bop
player, although she is as conversant with modern as with the more
traditional styles.  So, despite the incospicuous beginning, the
concert was a success.  They played to a hall filled to capacity -
other than some three or four seats in the first raw, the over 200
were full.  Perhaps this will encourage th festival to bring more OKOM
- usually, it's all modern.
Cheers