1. Avishai Cohen (born 1970 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He was raised by a musical family, and as a child he started playing piano. After a few years he moved to the bass guitar. Later, after playing in the army for a while, he moved to New York City. After performing some small clubs, he was noticed by Chick Corea and was given a record contract. He has performed in two of Chick Corea's bands, "Origin" and the "Chick Corea New Trio".
After having recorded "Adama" in 1997 and "Colors" three years later, Avishai decided to create his own label in 2003. The label released its debut CD, "Lyla" in September 2003. In February of 2005 Razdaz Recordz released "At Home", an album that was arguably Avishai Cohen's most compelling and striking new recording to date.
That is until the artist conceived of, and recorded his newest studio CD, the spectacularly beautiful, "Continuo". Cohen’s third recording on his label Razdaz Recordz, and his seventh as a leader, was recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden in December 2005 with Avishai's core trio of pianist/keyboardist Sam Barsh and drummer/percussionist Mark Guiliana.
New album "Gently Disturbed" released in 2008 performed by Avishai's trio. Avishai also shows more of his "Avishai Cohen & Ensemble" on their world tour.
2. Avishai E. Cohen - trumpet player, who received the Clark Terry award. He recorded under his own name, with his brother and sister as the '3 Cohens', and with 'Third World Love'. Bio excerpt from his website (http://www.avishaicohenmusic.com/):
Albums under his own name are The Trumpet Player & After the Big Rain & Triveni II
Avishai Cohen is a leading figure on the international jazz scene and one of the most sought-after players of his generation — “an assertive and accomplished trumpeter with a taste for modernism,” according to Nate Chinen of The New York Times. Though deeply rooted in the bebop and post-bop tradition, Avishai is taking jazz in new directions, making waves as an improviser, composer and bandleader. Originally from Tel Aviv, he began performing at age 10. He toured the world with the Young Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and went on to become the trumpet player of choice for many leading jazz, rock, pop, studio and television projects. He received a full scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and in 1997 he placed third in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition.
Avishai came of age as part of the fertile scene at Smalls, the storied New York jazz club, where he developed his artistic vision alongside such friends and colleagues as pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Omer Avital and vocalist Claudia Acuña. Here the imperatives of jazz tradition and innovation were not in conflict, but rather merged into one powerful creative stream. Avishai flourished in an environment where hard-driving swing, open-ended funk, Latin and Middle Eastern rhythms, complex extended forms and free improvisation converged under one roof, drawing enthusiastic audiences. All of Avishai’s diverse work, as a leader, co-leader and sideman, is informed by this broad-minded legacy, which has given jazz new vitality and relevance in the 21st century.
Avishai made his debut as a leader in 2003 with The Trumpet Player, a burning straightahead session with bassist John Sullivan (Roy Haynes), drummer Jeff Ballard (Chick Corea, Pat Metheny) and special guest Joel Frahm on tenor. His second album, After the Big Rain, is the last part of “The Big Rain Trilogy,” a series of recordings that is now nearing completion. The trilogy also includes Before the Big Rain (part one), a large-group outing, and The Big Rain (part two), a trio encounter with Yonatan Avishai on piano and Daniel Freedman on percussion. Avishai’s music is alternately moody and joyous, richly atmospheric yet beat-driven and grooving, suffused with compositional depth, inspired improvisation and a profound world-music influence. Avishai plays open and muted trumpet but also routes his horn through electronic effects that range from the dreamy to the snarling and distorted. He’s been developing these sounds over the course of the last decade. “When I play effects, I play a different instrument,” he says. “The whole concept changes.”
Avishai’s other credits range from touring with the celebrated French-American singer-songwriter Keren Ann, to sharing the stage with the great Bobby Hutcherson in the all-star San Francisco Jazz Collective. In addition, Avishai is the co-leader of Third World Love, with Omer Avital, drummer Daniel Freedman and pianist Yonatan Avishai, a group with four recordings to its credit. He also leads a funk-oriented band with bassist Me’shell Ndegeocello and drummer Adam Deitch, and continues to perform extensively with the 3 Cohens, which he formed with his sister Anat and brother Yuval, both gifted reeds players. With his incredible instrumental skill and world-spanning musical interests, Avishai, in the words of critic Ben Ratliff, “has all the power and tenacity he’s going to need.
Avishai is the chosen artist of Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation (IcExcellence) since 2004.
Lyla
Avishai Cohen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And catch the silver sunlight in your hands
Come for me and set me free
Lift me up and take me where I stand
She believes in everything
And everyone and you and yours and mine
I've waited for a thousand years
Hey, Lyla!
The stars are about to fall
So what d'you say, Lyla?
The world around us makes me feel so small, Lyla!
If you can't hear me call then I can't say, Lyla!
Heaven'll help you catch me if I fall!
She's the queen of all I've seen
And every song and city far and near
Heaven help my mademoiselle,
She rings the bell for all the world to hear
Hey, Lyla!
The stars are about to fall
So what d'you say, Lyla?
The world around us makes me feel so small, Lyla!
If you can't hear me call then I can't say, Lyla!
Heaven'll help you catch me if I fall!
Hey, Lyla
In Avishai Cohen's song Lyla, the singer calls out to his lover to catch the silver sunlight in her hands and set him free. The lyrics are metaphorical and can be interpreted in various ways. The stars symbolize hope, and the silver sunlight represents positivity and optimism. The singer believes in everything and everyone, including his lover and her beliefs. He has waited for a long time for her to come, and he wants her to blow his mind away.
The singer addresses his lover by name, Lyla, and tells her that the stars are about to fall. He asks her if she can hear him calling out to her because the world around them makes him feel small. He entrusts her to catch him if he falls, and he believes that heaven will help her do so. The singer sees his lover as the queen of all he has seen, and every song and city reminds him of her. He hopes that she will ring the bell for all the world to hear and make him feel alive.
Line by Line Meaning
Calling all the stars to fall
Asking for all the best things in life to come closer and be within reach.
And catch the silver sunlight in your hands
To hold all the shining moments of life and cherish them in your grasp.
Come for me and set me free
Asking for freedom from the past and to move forward with someone you can trust.
Lift me up and take me where I stand
To be uplifted and given new hope for the future.
She believes in everything
A person who is trusting and has faith in everything that they encounter.
And everyone and you and yours and mine
One who has unconditional love for everyone and everything in their life, even including those they love and those they do not.
I've waited for a thousand years
The timelessness of love and search for one's soulmate.
For you to come and blow me out my mind
To be completely and utterly blown away by love.
Hey, Lyla! The stars are about to fall
An urgent call to a loved one, warning them that the beauty and magic of life is slipping away, and that they need to make the most of this moment.
So what d'you say, Lyla? The world around us makes me feel so small, Lyla!
In the face of the vastness of the world, asking the loved one for reassurance and comfort.
If you can't hear me call then I can't say, Lyla!
Acknowledging how difficult communication in a relationship can be.
Heaven'll help you catch me if I fall!
Believing in a higher power to help hold us up when we are weak.
She's the queen of all I've seen
Description of the feelings of admiration and awe towards the loved one.
And every song and city far and near
Every single thing in the world reminds the singer of their love.
Heaven help my mademoiselle, She rings the bell for all the world to hear
This person's love is a beacon to everyone around them, and they are seeking help to be worthy of such a wonderful love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: AVISHAI COHEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrReggieman
Love is music.Peace & Love.
@jamesgibson3716
Shout out to Aaron Cohen for putting me onto this mellow tune....