Greg Cohen Explained

Greg Cohen
Landscape:	yes
Background:	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth Date:	13 July 1953
Birth Place:	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre:	Jazz, jazz fusion
Occupation:	Musician
Instrument:	Bass guitar, double bass
Associated Acts:	John Zorn, Masada, Ornette Coleman, Tom Waits, Woody Allen, Dave Douglas, Loudon Wainwright III, Elvis Costello

Greg Cohen (born July 13, 1953) is an American jazz bassist who has been a member of John Zorn's Masada quartet and worked with numerous other noted musicians for over four decades.

Career

Cohen plays traditional jazz and other styles, including work with Ken Peplowski, Kenny Davern, Marty Grosz, and Woody Allen. He has also worked with Tom Waits, David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Dagmar Krause, David Sanborn, Susana Baca, Gal Costa, Marisa Monte, Laurie Anderson, Willie Nelson, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Dave Douglas, Tricky, Jesse Harris, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts, Joey Baron, Donovan, Crystal Gayle, Bob Dylan, Nina Nastasia, Alan Watts, Lee Konitz, Richie Havens, Dino Saluzzi, Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Odetta, Vesna Pisarović, Danny Barker, Tim Sparks, and Antony and the Johnsons.

In August 2006 he was musical director of the Century of Song series at the German arts festival RuhrTriennale. He invited songwriters and performers such as David Byrne, Holly Cole and Laurie Anderson.

He has been a regular member of Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band, which played at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan. He appeared in the documentary Wild Man Blues (directed by Barbara Kopple) about a 1996 European tour by Allen and his band. Cohen appears in Robert Altman's 1993 film Short Cuts.^[1]

Cohen is a bass professor and the head of string department at the Jazz Institute Berlin.^[2] He is also an honorary professor in contemporary rhythmic music at SDMK - Danish National Academy of Music.^[3] ^[4]

Discography

As leader

Way Low (DIW, 1996)
Moment to Moment (DIW, 1998)
Golden State (Relative Pitch, 2014)^[5]

As sideman

With Terry Adams

Terrible (New World Records, 1995)

With Laurie Anderson

Bright Red (Warner Bros., 1994)
Life on a String (Elektra Nonesuch, 2001)

With Elvis Costello

Painted from Memory (Mercury Records, 1998)

With Christina Courtin

Christina Courtin (Nonesuch Records, 2009)
Situation Station (In A Circle, 2020)

With A. J. Croce

Twelve Tales (Compass, 2013)

With Dave Douglas

Charms of the Night Sky (Winter & Winter, 1997)
A Thousand Evenings (RCA, 2000)
El Trilogy (BMG, 2001)

With Marty Grosz

(The Orphan Newsboys) Extra! (Jazzology, 1989)
Unsaturated Fats (Stomp Off, 1990)
(The Orphan Newsboys) Laughing at Life (Stomp Off, 1990)
Donaldson Redux (Stomp Off, 1991)
Songs I Learned at My Mother's Knee and Other Low Joints (Jazzology, 1992)
(The Orphan Newsboys) Live at the L.A. Classic (Jazzology, 1992)
Thanks (J&M, 1993)
(The Orphan Newsboys) Rhythm for Sale! (Jazzology, 1993, 1995, 1996)
Just Imagine … Songs of DeSylva, Brown & Henderson (Stomp Off, 1994)
Keep a Song in Your Soul (Jazzology, 1994)
Ring Dem Bells (Nagel Heyer, 1995)
Going Hollywood (Stomp Off, 1996)
Left to His Own Devices (Jazzology, 1999)
Marty Grosz and His Hot Combination (Arbors, 2005)

With Tim Sparks

At the Rebbe's Table (Tzadik, 2002)
Little Princess (Tzadik, 2009)

With Tom Waits

Heartattack and Vine (Asylum, 1980)
Swordfishtrombones (Island, 1983)
Rain Dogs (Island, 1985)
Franks Wild Years (Island, 1987)
The Black Rider (Island, 1993)
Mule Variations (Anti, 1999)

With Victoria Williams

Happy Come Home (Geffen, 1987)
Loose (Atlantic, 1994)
Musings of a Creek Dipper (Atlantic, 1998)

With John Zorn

(DIW, 1994) with Masada
(DIW, 1994) with Masada
(DIW, 1994) with Masada
(DIW, 1994) with Masada
(DIW, 1995) with Masada
(DIW, 1995) with Masada
(DIW, 1996) with Masada
Bar Kokhba (Tzadik, 1996) with Bar Kokhba
(DIW, 1996) with Masada
(DIW, 1997) with Masada
Live in Jerusalem 1994 (Tzadik, 1997) with Masada
Live in Taipei 1995 (Tzadik, 1997) with Masada
(DIW, 1997) with Masada
The Circle Maker (Tzadik, 1998) with Bar Kokhba and Masada String Trio
Live in Middleheim 1999 (Tzadik, 1999) with Masada
Live in Sevilla 2000 (Tzadik, 2000) with Masada
Live at Tonic 2001 (Tzadik., 2000) with Masada
First Live 1993 (Tzadik, 2002) with Masada
(Tzadik, 2002) with Masada String Trio
The Unknown Masada (Tzadik, 2003)
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 1 (Tzadik, 2003) with Masada String Trio
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 7 (Tzadik, 2003) with Masada
50th Birthday Celebration Volume 11 (Tzadik, 2003) with Masada String Trio
(Tzadik, 2004) with the Jamie Saft Trio
Sanhedrin 1994–1997 (Tzadik, 2005) with Masada
(Tzadik, 2005) with Masada String Trio
(Tzadik, 2008)
(Tzadik, 2008) with Bar Kokhba
(Tzadik, 2009) with Masada Quintet
Alhambra Love Songs (Tzadik, 2009)
(Tzadik, 2010) with Ben Goldberg Quartet
(Tzadik, 2010) with Masada String Trio
In Search of the Miraculous (Tzadik, 2010)

With others

Fiona Apple, When the Pawn... (Epic, 1999)
Cyro Baptista, Vira Loucos (Avant, 1997)
Steve Beresford, Signals for Tea (Avant, 1995)
David Byrne, Feelings (Warner Bros., 1997)
David Byrne, Look into the Eyeball (Virgin, 2001)
Marc Cohn, Join the Parade (Decca, 2007)
Holly Cole, Holly Cole (Alert, 2006)
Anthony Coleman, Sephardic Tinge (Tzadik, 1995)
Kenny Davern and Ken Peplowski, The Jazz KENnection (Arbors)
Peter Ecklund, Ecklund at Elkhart (Jazzology, 1994)
Marianne Faithfull, Easy Come, Easy Go (Naive, 2008)
Mark Feldman, Secrets with Uri Caine and Joey Baron (Tzadik, 2009)
Michael Franks, Time Together (Shanachie, 2011)
Keiji Haino, An Unclear Trial (Avant, 1998)
Joe Jackson, Fast Forward (Caroline, 2015)
Natalie Merchant, Leave Your Sleep (Nonesuch, 2010)
Randy Newman, Bad Love (DreamWorks, 1999)
Randy Newman, Harps and Angels (Nonesuch, 2008)
Ken Peplowski, Grenadilla (Concord, 1997)
Madeleine Peyroux, Dreamland (Atlantic, 1996)
Marc Ribot, Shoe String Symphonettes (Tzadik, 1997)
Jamie Saft, (Tzadik, 2006)
Ron Sexsmith, Other Songs (Interscope, 1997)
Julian Siegel, Live at The Vortex (Basho, 2008)
Loudon Wainwright III, Social Studies (Hannibal, 1999)

Notes and References

Web site: Short Cuts / Robert Altman / 1993 . filmsdefrance.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110527085830/http://filmsdefrance.com/FDF_Short_Cuts_1993_rev.html . 2011-05-27.
Web site: Jazz Institute Berlin.
Web site: Syddansk Musikkonservatorium: Topbassist tilknyttes konservatoriet . www.sdmk.dk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181005030728/https://www.sdmk.dk/om-sdmk/nyheder-og-presse/nyhedsarkiv/nyhed/artikel/topbassist-tilknyttes-konservatoriet.html . 2018-10-05.
Stewart, Zan. "The state of jazz: Meet 40 more Jersey greats", The Star-Ledger, September 28, 2003. Accessed October 11, 2015. "Cohen, a resident of Summit, is one of the most versatile of modern bassists."
Web site: Greg Cohen - Golden State . 2016-01-05 . 2016-01-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160127154851/http://www.relativepitchrecords.com/releases/rpr1020.html . dead .