2016 · Album
Into The Silence
Recorded 2015 in France · ECM · Produced by Manfred Eicher
Grief in slow motion, sharp edges included
Cohen's trumpet leads through ambient soundscapes that shift between supple sadness and sharp, tangled emotion.
Into the Silence opens in hushed space—minimal, restrained, the kind of recording where silence matters as much as sound. Cohen's trumpet enters carefully, often distant, surrounded by sparse piano, strings, and gentle rhythm section work. The pace is deliberate. Nothing rushes. This is Cohen moving toward a classical, ambient aesthetic while thinking specifically about the ECM house sound—less bebop energy, more architectural patience.
The album took shape after Cohen's father died, and that loss is audible throughout. Reviewer Matt Collar noted in AllMusic that grief permeates the work, with Cohen leading the band through soundscapes that feel emotionally unstable—tender one moment, then fractured and difficult the next. It's honest in that way; it doesn't pretend sadness is linear. Cohen assembled a new quintet for these sessions, and they move together as a unit designed for restraint rather than display.
Guardian critic John Fordham heard it as beautiful contemporary music with breadth enough to appeal beyond jazz audiences, though fans of jazz reference points will find them woven throughout. This isn't Cohen abandoning his roots; it's him working inward, letting the weight of loss reshape how he voices a tune or builds a solo. If you've heard his more energetic work, this feels like a deliberate step away from display—necessary work, not commercial calculation.
Who's playing
Eric Revisdouble bass
Yonathan Avishaipiano
Bill McHenrytenor saxophone
Avishai Cohentrumpet
Nasheet Waitsdrums
Where next?
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
