AVISHAI COHEN
After the Big Rain

Anzic Records

According to trumpeter Avishai Cohen, “The Big Rain” is a metaphor for any event that changes or ends the world and society as we know it today, be it floods, war, famine, or any major event—maybe something akin to Dylan’s Hard Rain. His new CD, After the Big Rain, released on Anzic records (the same label that released his sister, Anat’s recent recordings Poetica and Noir) features a small group that showcases African guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke.

Loueke has been appearing everywhere lately. He figured prominently on Terence Blanchard’s 2005 recording Flow, and has played as a sideman on a number of releases this year, including Kendrick Scott’s The Source, Ferenc Lemeth’s Night Sounds, Angelique Kudjo’s Djin Djin, and now Cohen’s release. Loueke and Cohen seem like natural collaborators given Cohen’s love of African rhythm and music, which he blends with his native Israeli music and, of course, jazz. With Jason Lidner at the keyboards, displaying his warm Fender Rhodes playing, bassist Omar Avital, and percussionists Daniel Freedman and Yosvany Terry, Cohen takes us into a musical world that is vaguely familiar yet somehow not quite of this world.

The mellow title track is presented twice, as the first track on the CD and also as its epilogue. This track sounds like the music of reconciliation following a ‘Big Rain’ event. An aftermath, but also a new beginning. Loueke plays his trademark acoustic guitar as well as singing in his native Benin language, while drums and bass create a distinctly African rhythmic feel. Lindner lays atmospheric keyboard work over this, and Cohen finishes it off with sprays of trumpet notes. “Parto Forte”, the disc’s second track, creates a forceful rhythmic presence right away, again featuring Loueke’s plucked guitar cascades and some of his vocal work. Cohen bursts in with bright trumpet work that eventually leads to more distinctly jazz-influenced vibe, and the piece works its way into a fusion-esque area. Cohen is able to take the mood from relaxed to fiery with a few short jabs and twists of notes, and he takes it to another level with his electronically treated trumpet in the final third of the track. This is what Miles might have sounded like if his mid-70s excursions such as Agharta had featured lighter, more African-centric grooves and less heavy funk overlaid with really ‘out there’ free playing.

Loueke earns his featured billing with heavy contributions on nearly every track. Lindner often creates a relaxed, supportive mood for Cohen to experiment over, as on “Meditation on Two Chords” or the gentle “Afterthoughts (Mozartine).” That serves as a perfect contrast to the energetic numbers such as “Parto Forte” and “African Daisy.” After the Big Rain is a well-played, thoughtful recording that should be of interest to those who like a spicy world vibe to their jazz. While this sort of thing has been done before (sometimes with Lionel Louke in tow), Cohen convincingly makes this sound his own.