Master Musician Jeremy Cohen Talks Violin, Jazz & Teaching

Jeremy Cohen’s electrifying jazz violin performances have earned him international accolades. Classically-trained and a student of Itzhak Perlman and Anne Crowden, Cohen’s eclectic style reflects his respect for a wide range of violinists from Perlman and Fritz Kreisler to Joe Venuti and Eddie South. Cohen has performed as jazz and tango soloist with numerous orchestras. Deeply committed to teaching and outreach as a crossover specialist, Cohen joined forces in 2018 with a web development team—musicians themselves—to create the unique teaching platform StringMasters (stringmasters.com). A founding partner, Cohen also serves as the Artistic Director of String. The online platform launched in March 2020.

His commercial recording credits include motion picture and television soundtracks including four seasons as the fiddler on the soundtrack of The Dukes of Hazzard and Jane Fonda’s Dollmaker, and as concertmaster on recordings with Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Aaron Neville, Howard Keel and Cleo Laine. He appeared on Carlos Santana’s Grammy-winning CD Supernatural, Santana’s Shaman, and the original Star Wars compilation CD with John Williams. On the stage he was the solo violinist in San Francisco’s two-year production of Forever Tango and toured nationally with the Broadway production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. He has toured and recorded with the Grammy winning Turtle Island String Quartet.

Cohen founded the pioneering string group, Quartet San Francisco, and has toured extensively with the group since 2001. Quartet San Francisco (QSF) was awarded the Grand Prize in the First International Tango Competition at the Argentine Consulate in New York in 2004. QSF’s five recording projects have garnered seven Grammy nominations in the categories of Best Classical Crossover, Best Engineered Classical, and Best Instrumental Composition. Cohen composes and arranges for the group and is in demand as a composer/ arranger for other ensembles as well. Quartet San Francisco remains active during the current COVID-19 lockdown, producing full concert video presentations for music festivals and institutions that have shifted to online presentations.

Cohen composes and publishes through his company Violinjazz Publishing, which features titles for string players ranging from solo material to works for small and large string ensembles. Two recent seasons of the San Francisco Symphony included tango arrangements by Cohen.

Cohen the Teacher

Cohen taught for six years at the Stanford Jazz Workshop and served on the faculty of the Henry Mancini Institute (Los Angeles) from 1997 until its closure in 2006. He currently serves on the board and faculty of the Clazz International Music Festival, an annual summer festival in which takes place in Arcidosso, Italy.

He has recorded two CDs with his ViolinJazz quartet on the Violinjazz Recordings label (Violinjazz and A Taste of Violinjazz) and one disc on the Dorian Sono Luminus label (The Music of Eddie South). He released Jeremy Cohen and Friends Celebrate Joe Venuti –100 Years, his DVD tribute to the great jazz violinist, on the VAI Music label.

Talking Triplets with Jeremy

A Very Special Instrument

You’ve heard this violin before. Jeremy Cohen managed to obtain a violin that has enjoyed a more active music career than any musician. The instrument has appeared in symphonic works, on sound recordings, classic movies, Tom & Jerry cartoons … and more.
Check it out, here.