Avishai Cohen

Avishai Cohen was born in 1970 in Kabri

Avishai Cohen was born in 1970 on Kabri, a kibbutz in northern Israel, and grew up in a musical family near Jerusalem. He started on piano at 9 and moved to bass guitar at 14, inspired by Jaco Pastorius. After a period in St Louis, Missouri, he studied acoustic bass at the Music and Arts Academy in Jerusalem.

After two years in an army band, he moved to New York City at 22. He played on the streets, worked in construction and studied at the New School. He joined the trio of pianist Danilo Pérez and later worked with Chick Corea for 6 years.

His first albums appeared on Corea's Stretch Records label, and in 2002 he founded his own label, Razdaz Recordz. After returning to Israel he released Sha'ot Regishot, his first album sung in Hebrew. From 2009 to 2011 he was artistic director of the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat.

His music blends Middle Eastern, eastern European and jazz traditions, and he often sings in Ladino. He later worked with orchestras and in 2020 joined the French label Naïve Records.