Throughout his critically acclaimed recordings as a leader and as a collaborator with numerous
leading jazz figures and world-class ensembles, Ryan Cohan has masterfully walked the line of
writer and player, proving himself time and again to be a composer of rare vision as well as a
highly versatile, powerfully expressive pianist.
Recognized for his “ingenuity and virtuosity” (Chicago Tribune), Cohan’s expansive body of
work ranges from solo piano pieces to arrangements for symphony orchestra and scores for
independent films. He has produced six albums of original music: Real World; Here and Now;
One Sky; Another Look (called “a model for modern jazz piano albums” by ICON magazine);
and The River which features Ryan’s sixty-minute suite inspired by his travels throughout
Africa.
Scored for an eleven-piece chamber jazz ensemble, Cohan’s latest recording Originations
(Origin Records) dynamically synthesizes Middle Eastern and other world music influences,
classical compositional elements and improvisation. The project received unanimous critical
praise on its release including being a Downbeat Magazine Editor’s Pick and was chosen a
“Best Jazz Recording of 2020” by the Chicago Tribune and other prominent global
publications.
Cohan has embarked upon multiple international tours representing the U.S. Department of
State in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center. Leading his quartet, Cohan traveled across
Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East performing and collaborating with local musicians
with the mission of fostering empathy and connection between cultures through music.
A Chicago native, Cohan has worked with such jazz luminaries and elite large ensembles as
Freddie Hubbard, Joe Locke, Andy Narell, Jon Faddis, Paquito D’Rivera, Kurt Elling, Gregory
Porter, Victor Lewis, Bob Cranshaw, Jeff Hamilton, Steve Wilson, The Chicago Symphony
Orchestra, MusicNOW Ensemble, Orbert Davis’s Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, The Chicago Jazz
Ensemble, The Grant Park Symphony Orchestra with Otis Clay and The Chicago Chamber
Musicians among others. Both as a sideman and fronting his various ensembles, Cohan has
performed at premier venues worldwide. He has collaborated extensively with Ramsey Lewis,
contributing more than twenty compositions and arrangements to the NEA Jazz Master’s
recorded and live performance repertoire and penning the theme song for his nationally
syndicated television series, The Legends of Jazz. Cohan provided the orchestral writing for
master vibraphonist Joe Locke’s live concert recording, Wish Upon A Star (Motéma) featuring
Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, and he was commissioned to arrange music for The Scottish
National Jazz Orchestra led by Tommy Smith.
Thus far in his career, Cohan has received the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in
composition, Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Music and Sound Design Fellowship, three
New Jazz Works commissioning grants from Chamber Music America and The Doris Duke
Charitable Foundation, multiple Aaron Copland Recording Grants, Composer Assistance
Award from New Music USA and two Illinois Arts Council Fellowships.
As an educator, Ryan held the position of Artist-in-Residence at The University of Louisville
School of Music’s Jamie Aebersold Jazz Studies Program and Purdue Univeristy and has been
on the music faculty at the University Of Illinois at Chicago, The Skidmore Jazz Institute in New
York and was a teaching mentor for the Jazz Institute of Chicago. He has also worked
extensively as an artist clinician at dozens of universities, high schools and other notable music
programs locally, throughout the U.S and abroad.
TICKETS
Thursday
— $20 general admission —
— $35 VIP preferred seating —
Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
— $25 general admission —
— $40 VIP preferred seating —
