KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 5, 2019

Featuring transformative pieces from latest albums “Triple Helix” and “Happy”

Kennesaw State University’s School of Music will host Anat Cohen Tentet with musical director Oded Lev-Ari on November 9 at 8 p.m. A featured artist in ArtsKSU Presents professional series, Grammy-nominated clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen and the Tentet (rhythm section, horns, vibraphone, cello, and accordion) will perform selections from their albums Happy Song and Triple Helix. Happy Song draws influences from Brazilian music and African grooves to vintage swing and touching ballads, and, in a stirring follow-up to Happy Song, the group reaches a new crest in its evolution with Triple Helix.

Commissioned by New York’s Carnegie Hall and Chicago’s Symphony Center for live world premieres earlier in 2019, Triple Helix won raves from The Chicago Tribune as “a work of considerable expressive reach” and a “sensuous tonal palette,” with Cohen “sounding like a musician transformed.” The album’s centerpiece is a three-movement concerto composed for Cohen and the Tentet by her longtime collaborator Oded Lev-Ari, the Tentet’s musical director.

The Tentet, a vibrant mix of ace New York players, bring a wealth of color to the new work, which defies all stylistic pigeonholing: weaving in and out is the sumptuous brass of Nadje Noordhuis and Nick Finzer, the robust baritone sax of Owen Browder, the sonically enriching vibraphone and percussion of James Shipp, the lithe and versatile cello of Christopher Hoffman, the radiant piano and accordion of Vitor Gonçalves, the edgy yet ingeniously integrated solid-body guitar of Sheryl Bailey and the decisive and driving rhythm section work of bassist Tal Mashiach and drummer Anthony Pinciotti.

Ever charismatic, prolific, and inspired, Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over with her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence. Cohen has been declared Clarinetist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association every year since 2007 and has also been named the Top Clarinetist, Rising Star, and Jazz Artist of the Year by Downbeat Magazine. 

Don’t miss Anat Cohen Tentet with Oded Lev-Ari at Kennesaw State University, November 9, 8 p.m. at Morgan Concert Hall in the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center on the Kennesaw campus. To buy tickets, please visit ticketing.kennesaw.edu.

--Lauren Richmond and Kathie Beckett