REVIEWS
“ A drummer of creative agitation.”
- Karl Stark, The Philadelphia Inquirer
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“ ...beautifully furious...Cohen plays with abandon, pushing musicians...like Blakey or mentor Tony Williams.”
- Cadence Magazine
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“... Cohen proves an effective director laying down a steady haze of cymbals and propulsive drive.”
- Karl Stark, The Philadelphia Inquirer
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“... Highly interactive and full of that sound of surprise that is at the heart of good jazz.”
- Bill Milkowski, Author of Rockers, Jazzbos & Visionaries
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“... Cohen's "Diggin' In, Digging Out” is a very engaging listen that could end up being one of the major sleepers of the year."
- Chris Hovan, www.allthatjazz.com
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“... You obviously have great abilities and a high conceptual awareness on the drums. Some of the more adventurous stuff I have heard in awhile... your playing sounds excellent."
- Peter Erskine
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“ ...Energetic drum-driven modern jazz.”
- International Association of Jazz Record Collectors
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“ ...cool thrashing in the drums, Cohen has the loose interactive approach of his teacher Tony Williams.”
- Owen Cordle, JazzTimes
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“ ...A trio record that allows for free interaction. Cohen keeps up interesting rhythmic interplay.”
- Sid Gribetz, JazzTimes
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“... a leader and drummer of the highest quality... his approach is fresh, while simultaneously upholding tradition”
- Dave Miele, Jazz Improv
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“ ...The subtle goading shows that he provides throughout, show the imagination he brings to the role of the drummer in a trio."
- Barry McRea, Jazz Journal International
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“ ...I really enjoyed this outstanding CD, "Diggin' In, Digging Out" by Tom Cohen and friends.... great music.
- Michael Brecker
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Jazz Journal Magazine
Tom Cohen -"Embraceable Brazil"
More than a simple homage​
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January 18, 2026
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Surely bossa nova is old news, right? Wrong. Tom Cohen’s Embraceable Brazil keeps the traditional going while giving it a gentle update as well. The Philadelphia-based drummer clearly understands the style. His approach is more than a simple homage. The music moves with ease and an assurance that comes with age and maturity. Without falling into the tropes of being background or house music, the release serves as a reminder that some sounds never go out of style.
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The Reviewer - Konstantin N. Rega
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Jazz Journal Magazine - London, UK
Tom Cohen -"Embraceable Brazil"
More than a simple homage​
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January 18, 2026
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Surely bossa nova is old news, right? Wrong. Tom Cohen’s Embraceable Brazil keeps the traditional going while giving it a gentle update as well. The Philadelphia-based drummer clearly understands the style. His approach is more than a simple homage. The music moves with ease and an assurance that comes with age and maturity. Without falling into the tropes of being background or house music, the release serves as a reminder that some sounds never go out of style.
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The Reviewer - Konstantin N. Rega
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Downbeat FEATURE ARTICLE
Release of "Embraceable Brazil"
Listen to Preview and/or Buy​
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January 2026
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Like palm trees in the breeze, the newest record from Philadelphia-based drummer Tom Cohen is a subdued delight, highlighting his deep ties to Brazil’s music scene and study of bossa nova. Embraceable Brazil marks Cohen’s first album of Brazilian repertoire, but he has adored its blend of Jazz and samba since he was a child growing up in Newark, New Jersey. As it highlights authentic Brazilian chops and inspired renditions of classics, Embraceable Brazil is both a reverent and refreshing take on this beloved musical tradition.
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Embraceable Brazil Album Release
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Modern Drummer Magazine
Release of "Embraceable Brazil"
Listen to Preview and/or Buy​
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December 2025
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Modern Drummer is spotlighting new recordings that have the drums at the center of their sound. These recordings might be drummer-led, or just include a high-quality, special, or unique drumming and musical performance from the drummer and/or musicians in the band. This column is not restricted to only recordings, we will also be spotlighting new books and DVD’s that are being released. We encourage our readers to listen to the recordings that inspire them and keep looking for new musical avenues to explore. You’ll never know what new music, or new older music, you might find inspiring! Listen and learn!
Philadelphia based drummer Tom Cohen has put together a very nice Brazilian themed jazz record. But he is not just using common Brazilian standards as schtick. He is playing lesser-known compositions by Milton Nascimento, Hermeto Pascoal, Toninho Horta, Chico Buarque, and augmenting them with cool arrangements of Carly Simon’s “You’re so Vain” and Pat Martino’s rarely played “Joyous Lake.” Bassists Itaiguara Brandao and Sergio Brandao help keep the grooves light and airy, as does vocalist Barbara Mendes. Philadelphia tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna turns in a beautiful solo on one of the best versions of “The Girl from Ipanema” that I have heard in recent history (thanks to Barbara Mendes.) John Swana’s EVI is a nice contemporary touch on five tracks, as is Chris Farr’s tenor sax solo on “Brigas Nunca Mais.” But it is Cohen’s grooves and arrangements that make it all possible. Check out Cohen’s playing and groove on “Bye Bye Brazil.” This is a very good recording!
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Jazz Time
Release of "Embracable Brazil" Versa Records​
Three Sleeper Record from 2025
Countless albums get overlooked at year’s end; here’s a small step toward redressing the imbalance.
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December 16, 2025
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To know Philadelphia drummer Tom Cohen is to love him and his dedication to his jazzy home team: players such as saxophonist Odean Pope, pianists Orrin Evans and Uri Caine, or the holy trio of Hammond B3 late-greats Shirley Scott, Richard “Groove” Holmes and Joey DeFrancesco. While rude post-bop and uneasy free jazz have been Cohen’s drug of choice for most of his career, it is the sounds of Brazil — sauntering bossa nova, quietly complex Afro-influenced musicality — that gets him highest on Embraceable Brazil, released this fall.
Cohen plays the songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento and Toninho Horta, the latter most lovingly represented by “Aquelas Coisas Todas” and featuring the haunting wife-husband singing team of Patricia King and Orlando Haddad from the long-running Philly-en-Brazil ensemble Minas. Along with the sparer likes of “Bye Bye Brasil,” with its highwire-taut piano groove, Cohen brings the funky, sexy singer-songwriter ’70s vibe to his Brazilian table-scape with a deeply hypnotic version of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.” For an album touching on so many familiars — a version of “The Girl from Ipanema,” oddly and uniquely modulated, featuring vocalist Barbara Mendes — Tom Cohen’s Embraceable Brazil takes the listener away the tradition and into something tremblingly new. — A.D. Amorosi
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All About Jazz FEATURE ARTICLE
Release of "Diggin' In, Digging Out"
Listen to Preview and/or Buy​
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September 2025
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Drummer Tom Cohen has been a staple on the Philadelphia music scene for over 40 years having carved out a niche in a city known for its wealth of prodigious musicians. Though primarily a jazz musician, Tom's versatility has been his hallmark, leading him to contribute his talents in a myriad of musical genres.
Born in Newark, NJ Tom began playing drums at the age of seven and studied rudimentary basics and reading with Gene Thaler. Growing up in the NYC area eventually afforded the opportunity, when Tom was in his teens, to make sojourns to jazz clubs to hear the greats of those times and their influential sidemen. One of those times was hearing Stan Getz and his band and it presented the chance for Tom to introduce himself to Tony Williams, which soon thereafter led Tom to be accepted as a student..albeit after a short audition!
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Diggin' In, Digging Out Album Release
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The Big Take Over
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Drummer Tom Cohen has played nearly every kind of music imaginable as a session musician. But when given his druthers, the Philadelphia sticksman is partial to jazz. My Take features him in an organ trio setting, joined primarily by B-3 master Joey DeFrancesco and either Tim Warfield or Ralph Bowen on saxophone.
The Cohen/DeFrancesco/Warfield trio takes on Vincent Youmans’ standard “Without a Song,” injecting heavy soul into its bluesy shuffle. Switching out Warfield with Bowen leads to the high energy hard bop of Sonny Stitt’s “The Eternal Triangle,” letting the horn wielder burn up the melody. Bowen also lays down some soulful sax on Wayne Shorter’s “Lost,” one of the legend’s least-covered but most harmonious tunes. The DeFrancesco/Warfield pairing lights up opening cut “Minority,” composed by Gigi Gryce, on which Cohen swings so hard he goes past the fences and into the parking lot. Cohen also pairs with two of his Philly compadres, guitarist Steve Giordano and organist Dave Posmonteir, on a seriously groovy version of Benny Golson’s “Along Came Betty.”
One might think this would be a record filled with drum solos, but Cohen keeps those breaks rare, instead concentrating on leading the band by driving the rhythms. Even without his top shelf collaborators, his lively cymbal work and high voltage rolls would make it impossible for any of these performances to lose vigor. It’s also very obvious that everyone on this date is having a great time, making My Take a blast to hear.
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