Not to be confused with Avishai Cohen (bass), the Israeli bassist. Cohen grew up in Israel and made his way to New York in the late 1990s, which was the right place at the right time if you wanted to absorb serious jazz at the street level. He studied, played sessions, absorbed the vocabulary, and eventually started leading his own projects. His tone on the trumpet is dark and slightly recessed — he doesn't go for the bright, cutting sound that a lot of players default to. When he plays quietly, which he does a lot, it sounds like someone choosing their words carefully.
His records on ECM fit the label well. ECM has a reputation for a certain kind of spare, chilly beauty, and Cohen can definitely go there, but he's also capable of real heat when the setting calls for it. Into the Silence (2016) was his ECM debut as a leader and it's the record most people point to first — it was made after the death of his father, and the grief in it is legible without being theatrical. It's a quiet record that stays with you, which is the best thing you can say about a quiet record.
He usually records in a trio or quartet format, and his rhythm section choices are good. He pays attention to the space between musicians, not just what each one is doing. That attention to ensemble texture is probably what keeps his records from feeling like trumpet showcases with accompaniment underneath. The conversations feel genuinely two-way.
Cohen also has a parallel career playing in Tigran Hamasyan's bands and other collaborative projects, which shows his range. He can fit into settings built around Armenian folk music and complex meters without sounding like a tourist. That adaptability comes through on his own records too — the influences are absorbed, not worn as badges.
If you're new to him, Into the Silence (2016) is the honest starting point, but Almah (2018) is worth following up with because it's warmer and more varied in mood. He's an artist who reveals himself slowly over multiple listens rather than grabbing you immediately, which means the people who stick with him tend to become genuinely devoted to the music.