Avishai Cohen and Beka Guchiashvili (Georgia) – A musical conversation between two giants

Avishai Cohen is considered one of the most unique and influential voices in the world of contemporary jazz – a trumpeter and composer with a personal and spiritual sound, who often blurs the boundaries between styles. Alongside his extensive career as a bandleader, Cohen has also played alongside international artists such as the Mark Turner Quartet, SFJAZZ Collective, Zakir Hussain and the 3 Cohens Sextet along with his brother and sister, Yuval and Anat Cohen.

His new album Ashes to Gold (2024), inspired by the events of October 2023, expresses a poetic journey of renewal and healing – inspired by the Japanese concept of Kintsugi (“beauty in the broken”). Cohen has won the title of “Rising Star” three times in a row in the DownBeat critics’ poll.

Beka Guchiashvili, born in Tbilisi, Georgia (1996), is a gifted pianist who was recognized as a child prodigy at the age of four, starting to play under the inspiration of Keith Jarrett, and performing in professional jazz clubs at the age of nine. He has won numerous awards – including first place in the Bosendorfer International Piano Competition at the Monterey Festival – and has performed on world-renowned stages such as Birdland in New York and the Blue Note alongside great musicians such as Stanley Clarke and Lenny White.

In a special festival production, the two giants will meet for the first time for a sensitive and deep musical conversation.