Pianist Ryan Cohan’s One Sky lands somewhere between outright jazz with straightahead affectations and a classical, long-form exposition. The 10 pieces may include a standard like “Lush Life,” but the theoretical basis for the project subsumes everything.

Subtitled Tone Poems For Humanity, the album keeps listeners on the edge of their seats with arrangements and instrumentation that make it impossible to hear the Billy Strayhorn classic as a reverie to a life of “jazz and cocktails” amid all this flurry. Instead, the insistent musical drive throughout suggests Cohan is in the philosophical thrall of what it means to be human, inserting an Abraham Heschel drop quote–”The truth of human being is the love of being alive”–in the middle of his liner notes.

Cohan’s strong ensemble includes up to eight people at one time, including tenor and soprano saxophonists Bob Sheppard and Geof Bradfield(who also plays bass clarinet) and Tito Carrillo on trumpet and flugelhorn. Cohan’s arrangements deftly weave standard jazz soloing into a mix of lines that keep the music on a storytelling path. After the insistent drive of the first five songs, One Sky builds to a climax over its centerpiece five-song suite. “Awe” and “Hope” offer a picture of a composer whose instincts are to get our full attention and to think of the big picture. Likewise, “Wonder And Response” features a more contemplative Cohan leading his band with fine horn charts, but also showing how expressive a pianist he can be. The album may not produce any real hummable melodies, but its lively outpouring intimates a restless, creative talent.–John Ephland 

In 2005, Ryan Cohan received a grant from Chamber Music America to create one long-form composition on a subject of his choosing. One year later, he debuted the piece during a free concert at Skidmore Jazz Institute in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he has been both student and educator. The audience heard a work of stunning scope, color, nuance and energy that night; One Sky captures that lightning in a bottle, and Cohan's liner notes give the listener a good sense of his creative motivation.

In his explanation of One Sky: Tone Poems for Humanity, Cohan quotes the author Abraham Heschel, who wrote "The truth of human being is love of being alive." That quote galvanized Cohan to look at humanity from a musical viewpoint; put simply, Cohan believes we are all "under one sky," and moving forward means finding the commonalities that can link us, not the differences that might divide us. The result of that insight is a five-track, four-movement epic that combines elements of classical music and jazz genres with Cohan's gift for creating musical "novels" with chapters within chapters.

The suite begins as an orchestra tuning for a performance, though another way to see it is like the beginning a new day: The sun rises, birds awaken, and our senses gradually come online. The piece coalesces behind Cohan and the rhythm section, with Cohan playing muscular piano and the front line acting as narrator and colorist. Since every member of the front line plays multiple instruments, that puts a lot of colors at Cohan's disposal; his Mingus-like ability to make a septet sound like an orchestra serves him well, both with the suite and with the four other group tracks.

Bob Sheppard played on Cohan's 2002 Sirocco Jazz release Here and Now, and the partnership obviously agrees with both players. Sheppard's soprano sax on "Into Being" is hot as a pistol, and shifts Cohan into an even higher gear. Sheppard's flute work brings a soaring quality to "Wonder and Response" and "Hope," with Geof Bradfield's reeds and Tito Carillo's flugelhorn adding texture to Sheppard's solo on "Wonder."

Texture is Bradfield's forte. Although his solos on "Wonder" and the free-standing "Six Fortunes" are terrific, he does his best work on bass clarinet, bringing boundless depth to the overall harmonic. Carillo applies a high, rising trumpet to "Easy for You to Say" and the suite movement "Awe," while Kobie Watkins' thunder-capable drums anchor a rhythm section that rolls with the myriad changes found in every Cohan composition.

Even on his own, Cohan thinks big: He morphs Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" into a grand piano concerto reminiscent of Debussy's "Clair de Lune." But his enthusiasm for the suite's subject matter show's Cohan is unafraid of tackling big issues as well as big sounds. One Sky not only showcases the talents of a great writer and musician; it also reminds us that we are all in this life together—and with the right mindset, that can be a good thing.- J Hunter

Chicago Tribune
Best of 2007
"One Sky"
(Motema Music)
December 16, 2007

There is no doubt that Ryan Cohan is an extraordinary pianist. His unaccompanied rendition of "Lush Life" squeezes every ounce of beauty from the tune. And his solo at the beginning of "Easy For You To Say" is delightfully Monkish. But his new album, "One Sky," is also a showcase for his writing and arranging. Typical arrangements include a sax or two, a clarinet, and a flugelhorn or trumpet. Even though none of Cohan's band-mates are household names, they are all excellent. Cohan's compositions, like "Checkmate" and "Double Agent," are as intricately nuanced as they are catchy. But his most audacious and successful endeavor, "One Sky: Tone Poems For Humanity," is a five-track suite taking up half of the album. "Into Being" conjures up a chaotic swirl forming into a more coherent form, while "Wonder & Response" and "Awe" are imbued with feelings of discovery. The final movement, "Hope," ends the album on an optimistic, triumphant note.-Ron Netsky

Ryan Cohan mixes music as much as he blends instruments on his album" One Sky." The recording is named after his five-part suite that bears the subtitle "Poems for Humanity." It is performed by a sextet featuring Cohan on piano and then a mix of drums, bass, tenor sax. bass clarinet and flugelhorn for the most part. Some of those players double on other instruments such as trumpet and soprano sax. That creates a rather common small-group jazz sound that changes in tone constantly. The band on the suite features such well-known players as saxophonist Bob Sheppard and bassist James Cammack and produces thoughtful playing that is structured, but still has enough freedom to be lively. The pieces range in title from "Into Being" to "Hope," and ultimately bear a sense of brightness and hope. The other five tracks on the album are Cohan originals, except for Cohan's solo offering of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life." The four non-solo pieces use the shifting sextet, too, with extra percussionists thrown in. It is a lively, well-done album.-Bob Karlovits

Good news for Ryan Cohan fans. The long anticipated CD is out, and believe me, it was worth the wait. This is contemporary music at its best. Cohan works within the jazz genre, but his writing encompasses a broad spectrum of styles that crosses classical and jazz and in the end, is purely and completely Cohan.

Half of this CD is a suite entitled One Sky; Tone Poems for Humanity, some of which we heard at JazzFest 2006 when Cohan last visited Medicine Hat. The suite includes, Into Being Part 1 and 2, Wonder and Response, Awe, and Hope. Cohan in the liner notes says, "We are a world society under one sky." He goes on to describe the way he approached each movement. Rather than pick a particular style for each title, he tried to let the sentiment of the movement lead and guide the music.

The result, like being led on a journey or watching a movie, is filled with twists and turns, sections that morph into other sections, changes in time and harmonies, and a constant, almost seamless movement back and forth between improvised and arranged sections.

This is classic Cohan, but is a step beyond his terrific debut CD, Here and Now. Cohan's writing is blossoming into something quite profound and spell binding.

The opening track, Double Agent, begins in a lilting 6/8 waltz with flute lead and before the tune is over, has worked its way through a salsa and back to the 6/8.

Track two, Easy for you to Say, may have been what the band said when they looked at this chart for the first time. This is a technically challenging piece, as all Cohan compositions tend to be. Cohan opens solo piano and flies through many styles including some Bud Powell sounding sections. The tune eventually settles into a blues and Ryan really cooks. Another new feature is evident on this album, and that is the sound of Cohan humming along in the background to his own playing.

Something else very evident on this recording is Cohan's formidable piano playing. While he is never just showy, Cohan throws off arpeggios and scale passages at blistering speeds with absolute precision and flawless rhythm. This is no more evident than on what for me, is the highlight track of the CD, a solo piano version of Lush Life. This is classic! Cohan spins the tune through a plethora of styles from a free-floating opening through stride and huge rhapsodic sections. This cut really shows Cohan's playing as we haven't heard it before.

Joining Cohan are some familiar names from his quartet, Geof Bradfield, Lorin Cohen and Kobie Watkins. Rounding out the sextet for this session are Bob Sheppard on sax and flute, Tito Carrillo on trumpet and James Cammack on bass. Special mention goes to Kobie Watkins and Lorin Cohen for their always tight, driving and interactive rhythm playing.

Despite this being an incredibly intricate and sophisticated CD, it is also very assessable. Cohan has kept his foot firmly in the jazz tradition, and, as well as any composer today, has found a way to integrate the old with the new without throwing either away.

The writer of this column and the Medicine Hat Jazz Society are given a nod in the liner notes, which is a nice compliment. The CD is available through several on-line outlets with preview tracks on Cohan's My Space page.-Lyle Rebbeck 

Following Brock is no easy task, but Chicago pianist and composer Ryan Cohan made it look easy as he brought his quartet in the next two nights, Friday-Saturday, September 14 -15. Longtime Cohan associates saxophonist Geof Bradfield and bassist Lorin Cohen were joined by drummer Michael Raynor, as regular drummer Kobie Watkins was in Japan with Kurt Elling. Cohan's new album, One Sky: Tone Poems for Humanity, is his first for the Motema label (home of Louisville favorite Lynne Arriale, among others) and features Bob Sheppard, James Cammack, Geof Bradfield, Tito Carrillo, Lorin Cohen and Kobie Watkins. I was pleased to see Jazz Factory owner Ken Shapero in the list of "thankees," as the Jazz Factory has been a supporter of Cohan's music since it opened. A waltz featuring Bradfield on soprano was in progress as I entered and was followed by "Double Agent" from the new release. This was a fast Latin-tinged number, with pianist and drummer pushing against each other to create musical tension and release, after which Bradfield's solo leaned into the abstract and included a quote from the opening "Acknowledgment" movement of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Cohan has always relished the work of Thelonious Monk and paid tribute to him in "Monk's Dream," which swung hard and allowed Bradfield a chance to work out on his tenor. The set closer "Checkmate," also from the new CD, took Cohan and company into McCoy Tyner modal territory.

The second set opened with a Coltrane-like invocational feel, with Raynor moving from mallets to sticks as the moods changed. "Steppin' Up," as introduced by Cohan, "features our drummer on a blues head I wrote." The Victor Feldman piece associated with Miles Davis, "Joshua," was enjoyable and led to a new piece from One Sky, "Six Fortunes," which featured a lengthy bowed bass introduction with Oriental motifs from Cohan and cymbal effects from Raynor. Cohan followed with a solo interpretation of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life," as featured on One Sky and closed the evening with Kenny Barron's "The Pelican," which combined precision and speed with deep emotion. The album itself features a beautiful cover photograph by Cohan himself and is anchored by a four-part suite underwritten by the Chamber Music America New Works Creation and Presentation Program. Throughout both the suite and the other songs on this CD, Cohan's writing seems to reach new levels. He told me between sets that "I try to write more expansively, not just head charts and the suite was built with the [expanded] sextet in mind. I rely on orchestration to get the point across - stretching lines out more and using the piano with horns as counterpoints." If you have not caught any if Cohan's performances yet, that is all the more reason to find this CD and give it the attention which it deserves. This is an excellent and intelligent recording and deserves a wide audience.-Martin Z. Kasdan, Jr.

Time Out Chicago
Critics' Pick
Ryan Cohan
October 2007

The last time a rabbi was quoted in liner a note was…well, I can't remember when the last time was. If ever. But that's what pianist and composer, Ryan Cohan has done in his most recent release, Ryan Cohan: One Sky. The rabbi in question is Abraham J. Heschel, German-born rabbi of impeccable lineage, a professor of Jewish Ethics and Mysticism at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. But Heschel saw his calling in social action and civil rights and made it his business to stand up and march with black civil rights leaders during the turbulent 60s. Heschel believed no religion holds dominion over any other. Which is what Cohan picks up on and writes about as the impetus for his work on this CD. "We are a world society under one sky," he says, as he explains the personal challenge he faced when he wrote the music for One Sky. Except for one track—his personal rendering of Billy Strayhorn's classic, "Lush Life,"—all the music is Cohan's, including the tone poem, One Sky, for which this release is named.

Cohan's work is exceptional, in the writing and the performing. An excellent keyboardist—his sound is reminiscent of Herbie Hancock's—Cohan plays with controlled abandon. He is something of a chameleon, adapting with ease to the flavor of each piece, whether it's the driving but cool "Double Agent," or the quirky "Easy For You To Say." For his tone poem, "Open Sky", Cohan chose to work it as straight ahead, traditional jazz, with overtones and rhythms taken from many musical streams, his musical expression of Heschel's philosophical world view.

On Ryan Cohan: Open Sky, the talented ensemble includes Bob Sheppard, sax and flute, James Cammack, double bass, Tito Carrillo, trumpet, drummer Kobie Watkins, and bassist, Lorin Cohen. Don't go looking for this release just yet. It's not in stores until October 16. But if you want a little taste of Cohan's style, and can't wait, you can always visit his website, www.ryancohan.com.-Miriam Allenson

Ryan Cohan One Sky Motema Music The heart of this album is a suite of tone poems: "Into Being Parts I and II," "Wonder & Response," "Awe," and "Hope." Cohan is a superb composer and arranger, and a wonderfully bold, confident punch and jabber of a pianist, but with a quiet side that relishes the vulnerable ballad and the impressionistic riff. He is joined by a fabulous ensemble: Bob Sheppard on saxes and flute, Geof Bradfield on saxes and bass clarinet, Tito Carrillo on trumpet and flugelhorn, James Cammack and Lorin Cohen on bass, Kobie Watkins on drums, Ruben Alvarez on shekere, and Jean- Christophe Leroy on congas.

The suite is sweet--expansive, quirky, and spinny in a childlike way. I especially enjoyed Wonder & Response, which has the lovely ambling feel of a quiet walk in fields near enough to be comfortable and far enough to keep the ambler alert to the everyday natural marvels he's been missing.

The sly "Double Agent" couples Sheppard's breathy burbling flute inspirations with Cohan's cool chordal maneuverings and scalar scampers. "Easy for You to Say" is an articulate musing on inarticulateness that will be instantly recognizable to any wooer who's tripped over his tongue or, in its introductory feel, to any pianist who's worshipped Bud Powell. "Six Fortunes" is given a cool mystery by Cohan's pedaled pensees, Leroy's creeping congas, and a horn chart that never quite tonally resolves. "Checkmate" jogs through its urbane paces like the score to a sophisticated cop thriller. And "Lush Life," the only cover here, is delivered with a salute to Strayhorn and a reverence for Ravel.-Alexander C. Kafka