Emmet Cohen Pays Homage to the Greats in Irvine Concert
- Paul Hodgins
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
Rising jazz star honors music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane during his current tour.
There’s nobody quite like Emmet Cohen. The 35-year-old jazz pianist redefines the world “chameleon.”
His style covers the vast gamut of jazz from its earliest days to the present. His virtuosic yet accessible style can morph seamlessly from Fats Waller to Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk to Chick Corea, from stride to bebop to cool to fusion, sometimes in the space of a few musical phrases. It’s not surprising he bested a strong field to win the DownBeat Magazine Readers Poll Pianist of the Year award in 2025.
It’s fitting that Cohen’s upcoming concert at Irvine Barclay Theatre honors two giants of jazz, trumpeter Miles Davis and saxophonist John Coltrane. Cohen is known for his work as a jazz educator, advocate and historian. His Masters Legacy Series of concerts and interviews is an ongoing project designed to preserve and celebrate the unwritten folklore of jazz through an intergenerational transfer of knowledge. It emphasizes the oral tradition of jazz, allowing Cohen and his peers to learn directly from the elders who helped define the art form.
Culture OC talked to Cohen recently about his career, influences, educational efforts and his upcoming concert.
Culture OC: Tell us about the genesis of this tour. Why choose these two giants to honor together?
Emmet Cohen: At some point I realized that Miles Davis and John Coltrane were born in the same year. And I don't think that's something that many people realized, especially because their careers started in such particular places, interlocked and interweaved in such a special place. And then they went on their own journeys that went into the stratosphere. When I was thinking about their careers, I (concluded) that we could really take a season and pay homage to what they left us, the gifts that they left us, and do it in a way where it could celebrate them at their early stages together, as well as look at what they created. It was an idea that just really spoke to me.
COC: How do you assess their careers as part of the jazz continuum, and how do you see them in relation to your own work?
Cohen: I have special connections to both of them through the musicians that I’ve played with – guys like George Coleman and Ron Carter and others. It’s really special for me to be able to connect the lineage of the music through all of that and present it in a modern fashion. This is our take on how we feel about Miles and Train.
COC: They went in quite different directions as their careers progressed. Do you explore the full gamut of both of their careers and their stylistic developments?
Cohen: Yes. We play something from Miles Davis in the ‘80s. I chose a Marcus Miller tune from Miles’ album “Amandla” that really has spoken to me for a long time. I met Marcus and I said, “You know, I was thinking about this tune you wrote for Miles. And I got this idea to do an acoustic version of it that I've never heard anybody play before.” And he was into the idea. I wrote some original music for the project as well that kind of honored the way in which Coltrane would play and how the band interacts in that stylistic setting.
COC: Tell us about the band you’ve assembled for this tour.
Cohen: It's been cool to explore with some great musicians because you know that the genius of those two musicians was partly who they surrounded themselves with as well. They put together great bands, and so part of honoring them is putting together a great band. I have Joe Farnsworth on drums and Reuben Rogers on bass, Tivon Pennicott on saxophone and Jeremy Pelt on trumpet. (Pelt is) really a force and powerhouse and has a real direct connection to Miles Davis and all the trumpeters. I’ve been thoroughly inspired by working with him. We’ve done a large portion of the tour already. I think we had about 30 dates or something like that, and we’re almost halfway in. It’s been a real treat to get to explore with those guys. Everyone in the band's so open and willing to take it in almost any direction.
COC: How do you integrate so many styles and hints of other pianists into your own playing?
Cohen: I think it's been really gradual, and I think that’s the key. It’s really easy to get overwhelmed as a student with all of the greats and everything they left, all the records, all the concepts, all of it. But it really just starts with one thing that you love. I started with Oscar Peterson, and then I got to see Cedar Walton live, and I was really into what he was doing. And I got to meet Barry Harris and started going to his classes and spending time with him. It just kind of led me down this web, just being enamored with the different sounds and the different ways that it could be done. The older I get, the more these guys just combine inside of me. I just let them all come through me and try to stay in the moment.
COC: Your Live at Emmet’s Place series, where you invited jazz artists into your home to jam, featured some truly amazing performances that seem completely unrehearsed.
Cohen: I think that’s some of the beauty of it. It was just about the process and creating and playing. It wasn’t about presenting these carefully worked out things for you. We're just going to have a good vibe and have fun playing together, and put the best musicians we can find in a room and see what happens.
COC: Why is teaching so important to you?
Cohen: I was given so much by so many wonderful musicians. For me it's a calling, to be able to share the things that I’ve learned and been passed down, and also the things that I’ve discovered and figured out. A lot of times when we tour we get to be in front of students. Last week, we were in Philadelphia and we didn’t have time for a full master class, but we invited all the students to soundcheck just to watch us (and) get a little glimpse into the real thing. And I got a chance to chat with them and answer a couple questions after. That’s always important to me. And you never know when or where you’re going to have such an effect on someone, where they figure something out or where it changes their life.
Emmet Cohen Presents: Miles and Coltrane at 100
Where: Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine
When: 8 p.m. April 11
Cost: $66-$164
Contact: thebarclay.org or 949-854-4646
