Anat Cohen - Quartetihno [Import] - (Canada - Import) - [CD]

GRAMMY-nominated multireedist and composer Anat Cohen shifts her focus to an intimate group sound on her newest release, the endlessly colorful Quartetinho (pronounced “quar-te-CHIN-yo,” i.e., little quartet). The group of New York-based international multi instrumentalist-virtuosos are all drawn from the ranks of her GRAMMY-nominated Tentet featuring bassist Tal Mashiach, pianist/accordionist Vitor Gonçalves, and vibraphonist/percussionist James Shipp. They share a deep love for music in all its heterogeneity and it’s all amply documented on Quartetinho, which includes originals by Cohen, Mashiach and Shipp along with material by the great masters Antonio Carlos Jobim, Egberto Gismonti and more. The result is boundlessly melodic and lyrical, with a wide array of timbres and subtle details of orchestration. REVIEW Just by looking at her résumé, someone who doesn’t know any better might assume that Anat Cohen is Brazilian. The Israeli-born, U.S.-based clarinetist and saxophonist has recorded and performed with the Choro Ensemble, drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, and percussionist Cyro Baptista, and she’s shared top billing on a pair of albums with Trio Brasileiro and as many duo releases with seven-string guitarist Marcello Gonçalves. Adding to that running list, she’s assembled this unique foursome―her “little quartet,” as the title translates―with bandmates originally hailing from each of the aforementioned geographic points of connection. Teaming up with pianist/accordionist Vitor Gonçalves, bassist/guitarist Tal Mashiach, and percussionist/synthesist James Shipp, and sticking to clarinet and bass clarinet, Cohen leads the way through a winning selection of nuanced numbers that look within and beyond Brazilian borders. For covers there’s a playful, bass-bolstered take on Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “O Boto”; a hip and quirky look at Maria do Carmo Barbosa de Melo’s “Boa Tarde Povo”; the group’s direct nod to Antonín Dvořák’s folk-friendly New World Symphony with “Going Home”; and two contrasting Egberto Gismonti gems―the dawning “Palhaço” and animated “Frevo.” Six originals, drawing on broad influences, make up the balance of the program, with three of the four band members contributing to that tally. Shipp, whose vibraphone is the keystone for much of this music, sets the album in motion with his wonderfully curious “Baroquen Spirit.” Mashiach deals in two different strains of aching beauty with “The Old Guitar” and “Vivi & Zaco.” And Cohen, bringing the sinuous “Birdie,” spirit song “Canon,” and swampy-and-bluesy “Louisiana” to the table, proves that her pen is every bit as impressive as her clarinet(s). This may be a compact quartet, but there’s nothing small about its outlook and ambitions. --Jazz Times