Charles Cohen

For the American real estate owner, see Charles S. Cohen. For the British soldier, barrister and politician, see Charles Waley Cohen.
Charles Cohen
Charles Cohen
Charles Cohen
Background information
Born(1945-10-09)October 9, 1945
Died(2017-09-29)September 29, 2017
GenresAmbient, avant garde, glitch, noise
OccupationMusician
InstrumentBuchla Easel
Websitewww.colorisluxury.org

Charles Cohen (1945-2017) was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area-based free jazz musician and composer.[1][2] Creating music since 1971, his music was entirely improvisational and produced solely on a vintage Buchla Music Easel synthesizer, an extremely rare integrated analog performance instrument made by synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla.[3][4] He has been increasingly recognized for his artistry performing internationally and was one of a handful of musicians who has mastered the Buchla Music Easel.[5][6][7][8][9] Only twenty-five of the instruments were produced in the early 1970s and only a few have survived.[2] He was also considered a pioneer in synthesizers and performance music. In 2011, Cohen was named a Pew Fellow by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage for his contributions to improvised and electronic music.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

He says he was inspired by free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor. Cohen worked for many years with musician Jeff Cain in their group The Ghostwriters.[18] He worked with other media artists in improvisational settings such as the Red Room, Knitting Factory and Tonic.[19] Cohen concentrated on creating electronic music in the setting of the live performance space.[20] He was openly gay and has performed in LGBT-specific performances, events and venues.[21][22][23]

  1. ^ "A Dramatic 'Odyssey' on the Temple Stage", Philadelphia Inquirer, April 21, 1987.
  2. ^ a b Holmes, 224.
  3. ^ "Duo's Sound is Eerie, Yet Provocative", Philadelphia Inquirer, February 25, 1983.
  4. ^ "Bhundo Boys Offer Some 'Jit' African Pop Group at Chestnut Cabaret.", Philadelphia Inquirer, August 26, 1988.
  5. ^ Keyboard, Volume 29, Issues 7-12, 2003.
  6. ^ "Charles Cohen - June 2010 Chicago", Matrix Synth, June 23, 2010.
  7. ^ Holmes, 225.
  8. ^ "The Lowdown on the High Zero Festival", CMJ:New Music Monthly, page 81, Oct 2001.
  9. ^ Elliott Sharp, "Noise Storm", Ars Nova, September 20, 2010.
  10. ^ Holmes, 16.
  11. ^ The Wire, page 40, Issues 203-208, 2001.
  12. ^ Signal to noise, page 54, Issue 35, 2004.
  13. ^ "Charles Cohen: Music for Dance and Theater", Option magazine, page 123, Volume 20, 1988.
  14. ^ Ear, Volume 15, page 59, New Wilderness Foundation, 1990.
  15. ^ Experimental musical instruments: Volumes 12-13, pages 36-9, 1996.
  16. ^ Holmes,
  17. ^ Pew Center for Arts&Heritage, "Charles Cohen"
  18. ^ "Saul Stokes Performs Live with Charles Cohen", Star's End, December 12, 1998.
  19. ^ Jennifer Kelly, "Folk Goes Interplanetary with Espers", Pop Matters, 2 May 2006.
  20. ^ Sara G. Levin, "Where every escalator is a stage", Downtown Express, Volume 18 • Issue 43 | March 10–16, 2006.
  21. ^ J.S. Adams, "Despite Protestations", Queering Sound '08, May 18, 2008.
  22. ^ J. Alex, "The Hibiscus Company", Walnut Philadelphia, November 20, 2008.
  23. ^ "MIX Experimental Queer Film Festival: 20 Years of Dedication to Demanding Experimental Queer Films", Trans Academics November 1, 2007.