A Citizen of the World

Anat Cohen was born to a musical family in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1975. Brother Avishai played the trumpet and brother Yuval played the sax and together, the siblings, who professionally comprise the 3 Cohens Sextet, have put out four acclaimed albums. Anat began her musical studies in earnest at the age of 12 and later honed her skills on the tenor sax  while playing in the Israeli Air Force Marching Band.

After her military service, Anat struck out on her own. She graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and then took up residency in New York.  Floating between modern and traditional jazz, samba and choro, jazz and post bop, her debut album, Place and Time, was released in 2007 to critical acclaim. Anat was voted “Up and Coming Artist of the Year” that year, and has been named clarinetist of the year every year from 2009 to 2015. She plays at festivals around the world, and was described in Jazz Police as a free spirit musician, resembling “a poet, a mad scientist, laughing – musically – with the delight of reaching that new place.” She has also been called a dynamic bandleader who has been known to dance while shouting encouragement to her group.

Perhaps Anat describes her relationship with music best when she says, “To me, music is a luminous experience. Whenever I’m immersed in it, life lights up for me – – no matter what else is going on.”  Clearly, her music, and her magic, make Anat a treasured  citizen of the world.