Piñata Music Series: Avishai Cohen + Mammal Hands

Emotion, audacity, and experimentation. A desire for exploration that is not at odds with instant excitement. All of that is cherished in the music of Israeli Avishai Cohen and British Mammal Hands. Much, much more than jazz.

Avishai Cohen

Always looking forward. That’s how the career of this adventurous Israeli musician, based in New York for over two decades, unfolds. Challenging the boundaries of genres, starting from post-bop and twisting the limits of contemporary jazz while exploring the avant-garde, klezmer music, or improvisation, as demonstrated in the magnetic “Naked Truth” (2022), his fifth release on the emblematic ECM label by Manfred Eicher, or in “Iroko” (2023), his recent work alongside Abraham Rodríguez Jr. Whether in trio or quartet format, and always with the sound of his trumpet as a hallmark, influenced by Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman. His music is deeply evocative, unpredictable, in constant search of beauty where few dare to look. A whole experience.

Mammal Hands

Mammal Hands is a young trio from Norwich, UK, formed by Jordan Smart on saxophone, Nick Smart on piano, and Jesse Barrett on percussion, who have been positioning themselves as pioneers of the British jazz revival for a decade. They draw influences from ambient and electronic music to psychedelia, progressive, and world music, declaring themselves followers of Pharoah Sanders, Gétachèw Mekurya, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley. Their enticing combination of influences has led them to perform alongside their peers GoGo Penguin (for they share a similar vibe), and their recent album “Gift From The Trees” (2023), their fifth release, serves as an excellent introduction to their music.