Award-winning pianist Emmet Cohen will visit us next week to celebrate the centennial of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He and his all-star quintet—which includes saxophonist Tivon Pennicott and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt—will perform at Kingsbury Hall on March 12, as part of its UtahPresents series. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Cohen’s been at this longer than most. He started playing the piano at three years old, cutting his teeth on classical music, then eventually feeling a pull that led him elsewhere: jazz. When I connected with him, he’d recently returned home to Harlem after five weeks straight of participating in everything from jazz cruises to a two-week-long string of performances in Cuba.
“Jazz … I heard later on. I heard the feeling of swing and experienced flexibility, and got deeper into it,” Cohen says. “It resonated with me so much, I decided to drop everything and continue exploring. I’m still doing that.”
One way he’s doing so is by touring nearly 30 cities, playing shows celebrating the lives, legacies, and music of Coltrane and Davis. Cohen’s goal is two-fold: to shine a light on each musician—both born 100 years ago this year—and to share his own voice and interpretations in the process, simultaneously honoring and discovering.
“Beyond playing their music, we want to include what they represented as two towering figures, pioneers, really,” Cohen says. “And when you celebrate them, you feel a freedom to be yourself, and I think it’s what they would have wanted.”
“So we’ll play their music, classics and hits, and also perform our music, concepts inspired by their great artistry and vision. What is the music for? How do you go beyond the notes and rhythms? What are we reaching for? Where does the music take us? They asked these greater questions, and that always resonated with me.”
Following their example has helped Cohen shape his musical identity and career. The footprints left behind by Davis and Coltrane have allowed him to keep finding his path forward. Luckily, it leaves room for a lot of blessed discoveries.
“I want to keep figuring out who I am and continue growing, building community and fostering young musicians’ talent. Celebrating the generations by bringing them closer together — connecting the oldest generation with the youngest — that’s my goal,” Cohen says. “We’re building a global community of people who love jazz, who are interested in and want to support it, challenge it, and be around it. This music helps heal people. It brings them together.”
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