In the summer of 2020, pianist Emmet Cohen asked himself a key question: “What would Louis or Dizzy do in this situation?”
At the time, much of the world was reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and the economic effects of shutdowns; the absence of in-person concerts only added to the misery.
Facing these crises, globe-hopping jazz ambassadors like Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie “would have tried to spread some joy and unity and love,” Cohen recently told DownBeat, to provide “something that the world is lacking—not only jazz, but joy.”
So, in October, with the help of his booking agency, Cohen managed to revive a European tour originally scheduled for May and string together a dozen dates over 16 days, visiting Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. His trio-mates for the tour were drummer Kyle Poole and bassist Yasushi Nakamura (subbing for Cohen’s regular bassist, Russell Hall).