At the risk of repeating myself, I believe everyone has potential - no more so than the student body of the annual Skidmore Jazz Institute. The key is to realize that potential, and several graduates of the two-week seminar have made that grade: Christian Scott just blew the doors off the Sunday bill at Freihofer's, and drummer Kendrick Scott (no relation) developed a last-minute stand-in gig with Terence Blanchard - at Skidmore, by the way - into an integral role with Blanchard's phenomenal group Flow.

As far as I know, Ryan Cohan is the first SJI alum to appear on the Bernhard Theatre stage as a leader. Wednesday's show wasn't just a "homecoming" concert for the former Nick Brignola sideman, either. Cohan - an accomplished composer whose work has been recorded by Ramsey Lewis - recently completed "One Sky", a four-movement suite created thanks to a grant from Chamber Music America. Wednesday's Skidmore show would be the suite's debut performance. So...no pressure, right?

I've never heard a jazz sextet referred to as a "chamber orchestra". However, Cohan's three-man front line (who Cohan introduced as "some of Chicago's best musicians") each brought at least two instruments to the stage, so Cohan had an orchestra full of colors to work with. And while his piano work is based in the blues, his deep musical knowledge allowed him to paint in every hue that blue can offer, and he was creating right from the first notes of the opener, an unrecorded piece called "Checkmate".

Cohan showed that knowledge later with a stunning solo rendition of the Ellington-Strayhorn standard "Lush Life". It wasn't just Cohan's interpretation, which swung from cascading Classical to strutting Stride (and back again); it was also his brief, but thorough, explanation of why the Billy Strayhorn composition is so important, and was so ahead of its time - particularly when you consider, as Cohan pointed out, Strayhorn was only 16 when he wrote it. It is no surprise Cohan has also been a jazz educator, including a stint at SJI.

It's also easy to see why Cohan's work was such a good fit for three Ramsey Lewis discs. Cohan's writing and playing have deep roots in the sharp, slick, big-city style characterized by the Lewis Trio, the Horace Silver Quintet, and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. The latter connection comes not just from the expertise of Cohan's front line, but also from Kobie Watkins' amazing drum work. I'd seen Watkins before the show, talking on a cell phone outside the Bernhard. Anyone could have pegged the thin, bespectacled, well-dressed African-American as a young professional - a lawyer, perhaps, or maybe a financial analyst. Then you see Watkins behind his kit providing thunderous counterpoint to Lorin Cohen's resounding bassline - still wearing the same dark suit, slicing the air with a drumstick in one hand and a tom-tom in the other - and you can be forgiven for muttering reverently, "Buhainia lives!"

As with the Messengers, the horns provided the bulk of Cohan's musical images. Multi-instrumentalist Ralph Bowen and trumpet/flugelhorn player Tito Carrillo did the heavy lifting, with Carrillo blowing a horn reminiscent of another Cohan resume point, Freddie Hubbard. While Geof Bradfield's solos were technically proficient, his best role was using bass clarinet and soprano sax to accent Bowen and Carrillo, giving both Cohan's free-standing pieces and the four movements of "One Sky" the same zest Grey Poupon gives really good chili.

I've got single words scattered around my notebook about the suite: "Meditative"; "Explosive"; "Intricate"; "Stormy". If Miles had done "In A Silent Way" with the Birth Of The Cool band, it might have sounded like this. "One Sky" is an impressive, well-thought-out work; Cohan told me afterward that he knew the shape of the suite before he even wrote a note, though he kept the piece's subject matter and influences to himself. This left the audience to either interpret it themselves, or just kick back and enjoy.

If all SJI does is cement the love of jazz in young players, then it's done its job. Ryan Cohan is a fine example of what happens when you combine that love with dedication, scholarship, and a commitment to excellence. If I were SJI, I'd frame a picture of Cohan grinning at one of two well-deserved standing ovations and write underneath, "This can happen to you. How bad do you want it?" -- by J. Hunter, published on www.albanyjazz.com, 7/12/06

Chicago's Ryan Cohan Quartet returned to Louisville for two nights at the Jazz Factory, Friday and Saturday, January 21 and 22. Returning with Cohan were saxophonist Geof Bradfield and bassist Lorin Cohen, with George Fludas (previously here with Bobby Broom) handling the drum chair. Cohan has been writing new music in anticipation of a new recording to follow his Sirocco Jazz release, Here and Now and he noted in a pre-show e-mail that he will be in the studio soon to work on this project. I caught the Saturday night performance, which began with a fast-paced Cohan original entitled "Checkmate." After a Tyneresque opening, there was a swinging piano solo, which led first into a sax solo and then into a subtly accompanied bass solo, which led back into the theme. Next up was an original tune from Here and Now, "Looking Glass," followed by another original, a tribute to Thelonious Monk entitled "Monkin' Around." Throughout these songs and, indeed, throughout both sets, Fludas' drumming was busy yet tasteful. Another Cohan original, "Double Agent," brought the energy level up, with an intense soprano solo by Bradfield. Cohan then performed an extended unaccompanied version of Billy Strayhorn's classic "Lush Life," which began with a statement of the melody and then went through numerous variations which summoned up everything from Western classical music to cocktail lounge playing (appropriately enough for the lyrics of the song) and even a touch of ragtime. The crowd was rightly awed by this display of virtuosity. The band returned for the only non-original of the first set, Clifford Brown's "Daahoud ." Noteworthy here was a Fludas solo with an extended high-hat section reminiscent of Max Roach.

After a well-deserved break, the band returned for a second set. Cohan covered more material from other composers this time, including Richie Powell's "Powell's Prances," Donald Brown's "Waltz for Monk," and, after Cohan's own bluesy "Steppin' Up," a trio version of Duke Ellington's "Don't You Know I Care." During "Powell's Prances," Bradfield took a tenor solo with hints of John Coltrane, followed by a "dramatic pause," which led into a drum solo. Cohen's bass was featured in the "Waltz," which also included Bradfield on soprano, in which he emulated the smoothness of a clarinet rather than the sometimes-reedy sound associated with the soprano. "Steppin' Up" was enhanced by a very full-sounding duet between Bradfield and Cohen. The stop-time theme of this song was reminiscent of Freddie King's blues instrumental of the same name, but with a very different melody. Two Cohan compositions closed the second set, "Easy for You To Say" and "Think Again." Cohan introduced the former as a feature for Bradfield and the saxophonist indeed pushed the group into one of those "moments" where everything came together with emotional impact. The final number offered a lengthy opening for bassist Cohen to stretch out, including a segment where he was accompanied by Cohan plucking the strings inside the piano.

Cohan's performance demonstrated again that performing original jazz compositions and entertaining an audience are not mutually exclusive concepts. Cohan's skills as composer, musician and bandleader, as demonstrated here, should continue to take him on an odyssey of ever-increasing respect in the jazz world. We Louisvillians who have been able to watch him over the past few years will no doubt be able to say that "we knew him when." If you missed him this time, be sure to keep an eye out for his next visit here. For more information on Cohan, his website is www.ryancohan.com. -- by Martin Kasdan, Jr. from louisvillemusic.com

   Jazz fans got a sneak peak and a behind the scenes look at a JazzFest Performer. The Ryan Cohan Quartet offered a workshop Thursday afternoon at the Cultural Centre Black Box Theatre. Cohan, the composer of the group spoke about the approach he takes when he's creating his music. He stressed the importance of being creative but not forgetting the traditional roots of where great jazz music has come from.

"Jazz is a difficult term to define. I'm looking at values of what draws me to music and what I think jazz is." He said as he matures as a composer, the history of the music is becoming increasingly more important to him. "To keep new music going we have to honour what's already there."

The informal session allowed guests to interact with the band and ask any questions they might have had. In between lecture and question, the quartet played a couple tunes for the audience to stress the points they were making. Cohan also played contrasting songs to illustrate the difference between more traditional songs he played and the less contemporary. While discussing his writing process, Cohan had the band play a groove by a musician who has inspired him, Ahmad Jamal. Cohan's presentation was an insightful and inspiring look at one talented musician's views on music and music making. The Quartet played at the Cultural Centre Black Box Theatre Thursday night.
--by Tim Inkster