Four videos of Vitold Rek and Opus Absolutum from our concert at the Filharmonia Podkarpacka Rzeszów, Poland, January 2015
NEUE WESTFÄLISCHE ZEITUNG, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008:
LISTENING ABOVE ALL
Stefan Bauer at “Jazz im Skulpturengarten”
.. Israeli singer Michal Cohen’s intonation was dead on, even during the most awkward tonal runs. She is capable of modulating the colour of her sound. When the musical context required it, Cohen enchanted the audience with her alluring timbre…The last piece was Michal Cohen’s. It was a song full of pain that ended with a breaking voice and finally with a breath (like the Hebrew word ”ruach”) – which could also be translated as ‘spirit’. By Johannes Vetter
…and Cohen is a revelation – trumpet, flute and soul without words. By Randal McIlroy
WESER KURIER, SEPTEMBER 9, 2008
By Yorn Schaefer. . . The strength of this quintet around the Israeli singer Michal Cohen, the saxophonist Chris Bacas, Pepe Berns on the contra bass and Roland Schneider on drums was evident from the start… Michal Cohen lets her wordless sound paintings, mourning-postulating and quietly breathed, wander through the hall, most of the time embedded in the warm tutti-sound. She improvises wonderfully…Michal Cohen, who has Yemenite roots, finally sings with Arabic mourning, a piece of film music while Stefan Bauer leaps back and forth between Vibraphone and Marimba. In short: amazing musicians, a fantastic band.
BRILLIANT SESSION IN THE “BLUE NOTE-KELLNEREI“
By Udo Spelleken
. . . With Stefan Bauer as vibraphonist and composer, currently on a European tour to present his new CD-production “Voyage“, the listeners experienced a brilliant session . . . the pieces slowly assembled a sound edifice that the instrumentalists and the singer with her touching voice made beam in luminous colors . . .
. . . the charismatic Michal Cohen knocked the audience almost off its seats with a vocal solo. The range of her sound-vocabulary and her clear voice enchanted the listener. . .
After two encores the concert unfortunately ended, and many left exhilarated.
Kurt Rade,
RHEINISCHE POST, SEPTEMBER 2008
Traveling with Stefan Bauer and the „Voyage“-Band
… Michal Cohen’s dark timbre lends itself not only to sensual jazz- phrasing but is equally well-suited for oriental vocal effects, often in dialogue with Bacas’ earthy saxophone sound. This transparency between Indian, or lets call it worldly ‘urban’ musical reality on one hand and a skillfully reflected jazz-idiom on the other is so plausible, so refreshingly open minded . . . Stefan Pieper
IKZ, May 10, 2012
Stefan Bauer enthused the Jazz Campus with his project “Voyage” and the singer Michal Cohen.
This New York musician who stands among the most accomplished vibraphonists in the world of jazz is the linchpin of this project . . . among the excellent musicians . . . singer Michal Cohen from Israel was especially a fascinating appearance . . . Ralf Tiemann
Bauer Quintet at the Coffeehouse
For their 30th Club anniversary the Jazz-Friends of Kleve treated themselves to another highlight with the internationally active Stefan Bauer Quintet . . . A successful appearance at the renowned jazz festival in Moers caught the attention of the Province of North-Rhine-Westphalia, which has since financially supported the development of this project . . . all in all an excursion to so far unheard sonic worlds. . .
Westfälische Nachrichten, May 2012
World class creative music in the “village”
Stefan Bauer and “Voyage” enthuse listeners
Sendenhorst. This truly was an extraordinary musical experience . . . What this quintet had to offer musically quickly took the breath away of even the most experienced listeners . . . it took
just a short time for these five musicians to take everyone in the room on a journey to a world of their own . . . The quintet played with passion and took the audience on a “voyage” from intimate and delicate to wide and orchestral, and from high intellectualism to deep emotion, a journey shared between American-infused Modern Jazz and a kind of “world music” that cannot be found on any map . . . The sustained applause for this magnificent and rarely heard musical adventure was well earned…because this quintet was simply just very, very good… Heinz Braunsmann
“Michal Cohen’s vocals are full of soul and grace. Sometimes her voice is like the gentle rushing of the wind over a barren desert landscape, then released, full of emotions and then again a melancholy lament seemingly mirroring the Israeli soul, maltreated across the millennia.”
(Oliver Kreft, Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz, Gernamy Feb2009)
נוסעת קליפ מהופעה חיה
הופעה בפולין עם ויטולד רק
“Michal Cohen’s vocals are full of soul and grace. Sometimes her voice is like the gentle rushing of the wind over a barren desert landscape, then released, full of emotions and then again a melancholy lament seemingly mirroring the Israeli soul, maltreated across the millennia.”
(Oliver Kreft, Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz, Gernamy Feb2009)
“Israeli singer Michal Cohen’s intonation was dead on even during the most awkward tonal runs, and she is capable of modulating the color of her sound. She took on a virtuosic, instrument-like role which resulted in outright ‘saxophone-duos’ with Chris Bacas; and when the musical context required it she enchanted the audience with her alluring timbre.”
(Johannes Vetter, Neue Westfälische Zeitung, Sep2008)
“Michal Cohen lets her wordless sound paintings,mourning-postulating and quietly breathed, wander through the hall, most of the time embedded in the warm tutti-sound. She improvises wonderfully with the drums and with the powerful-variable playing of Saxophonist Chris Bacas… Michal Cohen, who has Yemenite roots, finally sings with Arabic mourning, a piece of film music while Stefan Bauer leaps back and forth between Vibraphone and Marimba. In short: amazing musicians, a fantastic band.”
(Yorn Schaefer, Weser Kurier, Sep2008)
“In “World Collide“ elements from New Music and from the Middle East collided with Trip Hop, Dark Wave and Techno. “Longing“ . a vocal composition rich with nuance, was interpreted as expressively as “Aluva“ also by M Cohen, at times with warm and often blues-inspired voice, at times with fiesty, exaggerated accents. With Pepe Berns’ groovy. distinctive and soulful contra bass playing and Roland Schneider’s inventive rhythms the pieces slowly assembled a sound edifice that the instrumentalists and the singer with her touching voice made beam in luminous colors… the listeners experienced a brillant session with jazz perfectly in style and with fascinating musicians who were in the best of playing moods in an almost three-hour concert.”
(Udo Spelleken, Rheinische Post Xanten, Sep2008)
“Vibraphonist Stefan Bauer enriched his telepathic formation with the ravishing Israeli vocalist Michal Cohen.”
(Jazzfestival Moers 2006)
” Yemenite Michal Cohen recalls her traditional Middle Eastern heritage via her Henna project. The passion which she eschews throughout her album is undeniably gigantic and when those energetic vocals come alive resting nicely next to electronica you’ll find yourself blushing in awe…By far one of the most magnificent artists in the world-beat arena, is named Michal Cohen.”
(J-Sin, Smother)
“Michal Cohen, a female vocalist who has a hauntingly angelic voice…”
(Andrew Griffin, The Town Talk)
“women ultimately give La Kahena its beauty and focus—among them Michal Cohen, whose name echoes Kahena’s, and who’s new version of “Im Ninalou” (If the Doors Are Locked)” raises the bar on the
50 gates of wisdom once again.”
(Richard Gehr, The Village Voice)
“Im Ninalou (The doors are locked)” was previously on Michal Cohen’s HENNA album, but I recognize it from Ofra Haza’s 1988 hit. “Im Ninalou” has a dance beat that guarantees it a place on the next Putumayo Arabic Groove compilation.”
(Muzikifan-MUSIC OF ARABIA)
“The warm jazzy voice of Michal Cohen arouses beautiful warm and intriguing moods, in a laid back ambiance… Ms. Cohen’s voice and lyrics are adding an extra dimension to the music of Dan Nadel, as on Summer Days. ..This albumis a treat of rich melodies, haunting vocals and exuberant arrangements. ..”
(Henk te Veldhuis, Bridge Guitar Reviews)
“It’s definitely the voices that are the stars here, whether it’s the antiphonal chanting of Ouled Ben Aguida or Michal Cohen’s dance-oriented “Im Ninalou.”
(Saudi aramco world)
“Perhaps the most accessible tune to American and European listeners is Michal Cohen’s “Im Ninalou,”because the song primarily consists of a beautiful, lilting voice singing a melody over a dance beat. The minimal Eastern instrumentation contained within serves as an exotic touch, rather than a central component of the music. The Yemenite singer carefully articulates each syllable of the song, based on a poem by 16th century Jewish mystic Shalom Shabazi.”
(Steve Horowitz, Pop Matters)
“Yuval Ron’s “Canciones Sephardi,” featuring the stunning Yemenite vocalist Michal Cohen, is strongly evocative music that featured terrific solos by a small solo ensemble…”
(Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune)
“Middle Eastern singer Michal Cohen provides the most inspired, dance-floor ready cut with “Im Ninalou.”… Cohen comes forth with a refreshing purity matched by the rolling percussive backbeat and tromping string sections. With this number we move from head to heart and find openness, suddenly exposed, as if all the vulnerable lashes converge into safety.”
(Derek Beres for afropop)
“on Im Ninalou, Michal Cohen’s sharp, clear voice emerges from pendulous percussion and stays center stage as Cheb i Sabbah pulls out the club beats. It’s a tried-and-true formula, the diva dance track, with a moody, Middle Eastern twist.”
(Press, Six Degrees Records)