In The Element is the 2011 debut album by then 21-year-old jazz pianist Emmet Cohen, who was a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition, as well as the 2019 Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association! And I guess, finally, I am writing about a pretty cool piano player for MainlyPiano.com.

In The Element is his first album, released when he was 21 years old (2011). It features Cohen’s fingers rolling, pounding, and tinkling out tunes rooted in hard bop, and blending bluesy expressiveness with complex harmonies and driving rhythms. The album captures both uptempo stuff along with ballads. The album captures both original compositions by Cohen and standards.

Out of 10 numbers, four are original compositions: "In the Element" (which jumps off with rigor) – "Just Deserts" -- “Resentment (Without Reason)" – And "Ephemeral Certainties". The rest of the album features Cohen’s interpretations of jazz standards and compositions, including Herbie Hancock’s “Eye of the Hurricane” and Duke Ellington’s “Reflections in D.” Giving back structure to the music are Joe Sanders (bass) and Rodney Green (drums). Trumpeter Greg Gisbert also features solos in this collection (“In The Element”, “Just Deserts”, and “The Swarm”).

I am no pianist or musician of any sort, equipped with the articulation needed to describe the high quality of the tunes. But I try as a layperson.

Shifting to fourth gear, here’s the mad method to this review. I had been wondering whether I would propose to Kathy a separate column on MainlyPiano.com to feature various artists I have discovered (like Cohen) or followed (like Arturo O’Farrill) on YouTube. Before I jumped into that, I figured to use Cohen’s first album as an opening wedge to write about his work.

Cohen is crazy versatile, playing all genres of jazz piano with accompanists like Benny Benack III (trumpet), Kyle Poole (drums), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), Russell Hall (bass), and Philip Norris (bass). He has the veteran drummer Joe Farnsworth working with his trio, and Cohen, in turn, worked for Farnsworth’s trio. Last December, we enjoyed a live set with him at Smoke Jazz Club in the Upper West Side, where Fansworth and Norris provided the backup. (By the way, Farnsworth almost always is attired in natty suits.)

Through deeper digging, I’d come to appreciate that Cohen’s musical background reflects a blend of formal training and upholding jazz’s living traditions. I was wondering how this dude seems to have such a magic touch for attracting performers who busted into performing in his YouTube universe. Then I began to get a broader sense of his reach through his YouTube channel and his Live From Emmet’s Place, which began in the very early days of the lockdown as he has traveled the world with his trio, including Half Moon Bay, California, to various reaches in Europe and Asia, and at many jazz festivals.

As usual, I discovered him through my reliance on YouTube.com for entertainment, news, free movies and documentaries, and checking out podcasters, among other things. I hadn’t known of him or of his growing reputation, but it was surely a novelty to see his Live From Emmet’s Place hosting and performing with a myriad of jazz performers, inclusive of newbies, breakouts, and established professionals as well as masters during and now after the pandemic.

Emmet Cohen is hugely talented and is today a recognized jazz pianist who’s carving out a great reputation, establishing transgenerational jazz appreciation. Check out his latest album Vibe Provider, as well as the multi-volume Master’s Legacy Series.

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