Miami-born Emmet Cohen brings viral jazz series to the Arsht Center
Emmet Cohen’s apartment in Harlem turned into a live jazz club as a way for the musician to keep connected during the pandemic.
Cohen, born in Miami and a Frost School of Music at the University of Miami grad, talks about how his YouTube series “Live from Emmet’s Place,” which now has more than 240,000 subscribers, got its start during the pandemic. It didn’t start with a grand vision; it began with a canceled gig in Kansas.
“When the pandemic happened, all the gigs were canceled. And we were prompted by the people in Kansas—they were like, ‘We want to support the artists. We’ll give you the full fee for the gig. Just do something online.’ ”
He says he wanted to take that offer seriously.
“With my band in Harlem, we were kind of in a bubble at that time and we put on suits and ties and went to my apartment and brought Kyle’s drums over.” Cohen recalls Kyle Poole, his drummer, walking the drums down Edgecombe Avenue and then up the stairs of the fifth-floor walk-up.
“People were so lonely and things were so uncertain. We were able to provide this safe space to come—that you knew the music was going to be good, you knew the people were going to be cool. And I think I learned a lot in that time about consistency and about what’s special about music and community, beyond just the notes and the rhythms.”
As the show grew, so did its reach. The apartment eventually gave way to a legendary studio.
“We moved this year Power Station in New York City, which is the top recording studio in the city. And now it’s a monthly thing. We’ve gotten over 100 million views in the last six years or so.”
While the living room series was born in New York, Cohen says the foundation was laid in Miami.
“Life definitely keeps leading me back here,” says Cohen, who’ll perform in the touring version of “Live from Emmet’s Place” with his trio and a couple of special guests on Friday in the Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center.
Cohen grew up in Coral Gables and went to Palmetto Elementary School, but his family then moved to New Jersey. The pull to Miami led him back to the University of Miami and now recently retired dean Shelley Berg.
Cohen tells the story of their first meeting. Berg was leading The Jazz Band of America, a group of high school players, for a show in Indianapolis, of which Cohen was a part.
“It was the largest audience I had ever seen in my life. And I was getting to play, warming up and banging on the piano keys.” He remembers Berg putting his hand on his shoulder and saying, ‘If you come study with me at the University of Miami, I’ll teach you how to play the piano without putting it out of tune.”
And then while at UM, he had what he calls a full-circle moment.
“When I was a kid I used to be in this Saturday music program called Keyboards for Kids when I was in elementary school and it took place at the University of Miami. One day I realized I was taking courses in the same building. There I was in the same building but at a different point in my life.”
The city’s soundscape, he says, also had an influence on this playing.
“I think it’s such a diverse, diverse place… especially Latin culture,” he says. “Hearing those sounds early on definitely gave me kind of a molding that I might not have gotten in other places. There’s always Spanish around. There’s always Latin music… all these little things that happen when you’re from there, I think are definitely part of my being. Every time I come back, I just smell the air, and it just feels like I’m meant to be there.”
And because Miami is so special to him, Cohen says he’s put together “a band with a few of the greatest musicians in the world.”
On saxophone is Patrick Bartley, also from Miami. “He’s highly regarded as one of the greatest saxophone players alive today, and he’s been around the world and I’m bringing him back for the show. One of the most popular YouTube videos that I made was with him.”
There’s Bronx-born trumpeter Bruce Harris. “He was also on that video and they are two of the most dynamic musicians, so we’ll augment the trio, my regular group, with these two special guests.”
They’ll join Cohen on piano, bassist Russel Hall and drummer Kyle Poole, the guy who dragged his drums down Edgecombe Avenue.
Inside the Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht, audiences will be transported to the living room in Cohen’s Harlem apartment — the comradery and the comfort.
“I think there’s something in the show for everyone—for jazz students, for hip people who love the art scene, or older folks who love the Great American Songbook. I have strong beliefs about music and its capacity to heal and to just provide this blanket of comfort and security in a time when there’s so much in the world that’s going on… to watch people improvise together and try to create something together that’s greater than any of the individuals. Miami is a special place for all of us.”
If you go:
WHAT: Emmet Cohen’s “Live at Emmet’s Place”
WHEN: 8 p.m., Friday, May 8.
WHERE: Knight Center at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
COST: $52.65 – $152.10, includes fees
INFORMATION: 305-949-6722 or arshtcenter.org/jazz
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