Emmet Cohen Q & A

Emmet Cohen and the Miles and Coltrane at 100 band playing at the Sapphire Room in Boise

It has been quite the few months for Emmet Cohen, a Boise Jazz Society favorite. He was on the cover of DownBeat in July, and in mid-July, he had an interview in DownBeat’s E News. And of course he also did well in the DownBeat Critics Poll.

And further afield, UK Jazz News interviewed Cohen‍ and ‍reviewed his “Universal Truth” album, and France-based Paris-Move also reviewed this album.

And just to add a little more, here’s a brief Q & A that the Boise Jazz Society did with Cohen before his Miles and Coltrane at 100 concert in Boise last March.

Your current tour is "Miles and Coltrane at 100." How have these two greats influenced you?

Miles Davis and John Coltrane have influenced me less as stylistic templates and more as models of artistic courage. Miles showed us how to keep moving forward—how reinvention and risk are essential parts of the music. Coltrane embodied devotion to sound, to spirit, to truth. Together, they remind me that jazz is not about preservation alone, but about inquiry, growth, and honesty.

You're honoring the past in this concert series. How do you see the future of jazz music?

I see the future of jazz as bright and deeply human. We'll need to fight against AI as much as possible. Our tradition gives us language, but each generation must speak it in its own voice. Miles and Trane would never have imagined a livestream in 2026! I’m also inspired by how younger musicians bring their own stories, identities, and technologies into the fold. Jazz has always thrived when it stays curious.

Speaking of livestreams, "Live at Emmet's Place" provided live music and so much joy during the pandemic. Other than this, what makes you proud about this livestream?

Beyond the joy it brought during such a difficult time, I feel most proud of the sense of community it created. It became a space where musicians and listeners from all over the world could gather, listen deeply, and feel connected. It reminded me that jazz is as much about people and presence as it is about notes and rhythms.

What have you been listening to lately?

Lately, I’ve been spending time with a wide range of music—classic recordings by our favorite musicians, Cedar Walton and Ahmad Jamal, but also a lot of classical music. I'm particularly interested in the Rachmaninoff piano concertos.