Jazz luminary meets jazz legend

Anat Cohen headlines annual Chazen Jazz concert

World-renowned clarinetist Anat Cohen swings into Rockland County, and sharing the limelight with legendary music impresario George Wein on Saturday, Oct. 26 at JCC Rockland’s annual Chazen Jazz concert.

Cohen, one of the biggest names on the current jazz scene is the most talked about jazz clarinetist since the days of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. She’ll put her own personal stamp on the annual concert, generously supported by Simona and Jerry Chazen.

Cohen, who plays such top music venues as Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Village Vanguard, has been voted Clarinetist of the Year six years in a row by the Jazz Journalists Association, and is also 2012’s and 2013’s Multi-Reeds Player of the Year. Equally versatile on saxophone, she boasts an energetic stage presence backed up by some of New York’s top musicians.

With her unique blend of Brazilian choro and samba, classic New Orleans jazz and swing, tinged with just a faint hint of klezmer, Cohen brings her sophisticated style to Rockland County on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 8pm, Rockland Community College Cultural Arts Center, 145 College Road, Suffern.

Cohen will be playing with a quartet that features Bruce Barth on piano, Joe Martin on bass and Daniel Freeman on drums. Howard Alden will appear as a special guest on guitar. Alden has recorded with such jazz notables as Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie Mark O’Connor. In 1999, he dubbed the guitar playing for Sean Penn in Woody Allen’s film, “Sweet and Low Down.”

Wein, the founder of such noted outdoor music events as the Newport Jazz Festival and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, will receive the JCC’s award for lifetime achievement in the arts, as well that evening. Wein, a talented jazz pianist in his own right, is credited with establishing the large, outdoor music festival, forever changing how America listened to music.

“George Wein created unique, lasting festivals that have really left their mark on the American popular music scene,” said David Kirschtel, JCC Rockland’s CEO. “He is truly a visionary in the business. The JCC is proud to honor him and that he will join us for this exciting jazz concert.”

Hosting the concert is Elliott Forrest, a Peabody Award winning broadcaster and producer. As a radio personality, Forrest is currently heard on New York’s Classical Music Radio Station WQXR, WQXR.organd WNYC. He is the Artistic Director of ArtsRock, a non-profit art organization in Rockland County presenting concerts, conversations and family programming. For more than 12 years he was on the A&E Television Network as host of Breakfast with the Arts and Biography. www.ElliottForrest.com

The cost for the concert is $25 for the general public. Patrons who pay $75 will receive preferred, reserved seating and are invited to attend a private dairy dessert reception following the concert. Tickets are available at www.jccrockland.org.

Jerry Chazen, a founder of Liz Claiborne, Inc., and his wife Simona, are longtime supporters of Jewish, cultural arts and social service programming in Rockland County and New York City, where they divide their time.

  anat cohen, george wein, jcc rockland