Poetica

On her debut, *Place & Time*, Israeli-born Anat Cohen played tenor and soprano saxophones and clarinet, but on 2007’s *Poetica*, Cohen sticks to clarinet, the instrument she is best known for. A quartet that includes pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Omer Avital, and drummer Daniel Freedman joins her for a set of four Israeli songs, a Brazilian tune, a piece by Jacques Brel, John Coltrane’s “Lonnie’s Lament,” two originals, and an Avital original. A string quartet, arranged by Avital, appears on four cuts, including “Eyn Gedi,” a lovely piece that seems to float in the air and that evokes spirituals and hymns. The strings also perform on the Coltrane composition, which sounds like chamber jazz imbued with blues feeling. It’s an inventive version that still bears Coltrane’s unmistakable stamp. Cohen’s striking “La Casa del Llano” draws from Jewish tradition while also hinting at Latin sounds. The album closes with its longest cut, Avital’s “Cypresses,” where the mix of thumping, rattling percussion, fine string writing, and energetic piano comes off like an elegant movie soundtrack, and the arrangement provides a lush backdrop for Cohen.

Joined by a quartet of downtown Manhattan jazz luminaries (pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Omer Avital, drummer Daniel Freedman) and a string quartet, Cohen plays clarinet with a total command of the instrument. She sensitively renders, Coltrane’s “Lonnie’s Lament,” a biting Brel chanson, a ballad by Brazilian songwriter, Cavaquinho, four Israeli songs, two of her own originals and one by Avital.