Friday, July 25 7:45

Emmet Cohen is an internationally acclaimed jazz artist, a dedicated educator and an award winner many times over. Cohen has appeared at the Newport, Monterey, North Sea Jazz Festivals and at venues in over 30 countries. He regularly appears in New York at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, and the Village Vanguard and for many years has been the Hammond B-3 organist-in-residence at SMOKE Jazz Club.

Born in the pandemic and still thriving today, his live-stream Monday-night program, “Live From Emmet’s Place,” has a worldwide audience with tens of millions of internet views. He has ten albums and counting as a leader and has performed and recorded with Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Houston Person, Christian McBride, and Kurt Elling. Emmet is well known, among other things, for his stunning collaborations with vocalists. He has jump-started and advanced the careers of many, including Samara Joy (at age 18), Veronica Swift, Cyrille Aimee, Vuyo Sotashe, and others.

Emmet is dedicated to preserving jazz history and traditions through his “Masters Legacy Series,” a set of recordings and interviews honoring jazz legend. The series, begun in 2017, is self-released. To date these collaborations have spotlighted  Jimmy Cobb, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Tootie Heath, and George Coleman. Now recording on the Mack Avenue label, his latest release is Vibe Protector (2024).

Emmet Cohen was a Litchfield Jazz Camper in his teens and made his festival debut on the Litchfield stage in 2013, fresh out of college at age 22. This will be his fifth appearance at Litchfield, with his most recent Trio collaborators, Philip Norris on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums.

We are delighted to have the 33-year-old Emmet back to help us celebrate 30 years of Litchfield Jazz and his own place in the new jazz pantheon.