In early Autumn 2021, BluJazz released Winter Sun by New York based saxophone / woodwind player Mike Cohen. An atmospheric journey into contemporary instrumental sounds, Mike’s latest album makes for a very enjoyable set of jazzy, sax-based tracks. Excelling on alto and soprano sax, Mike also penned all the music on the album with the exception being an ‘epilogue’ cover of Paul Simon’s “The Boxer”, originally from 1969’s Bridge Over Troubled Water album. On the ten-track, 57-minute Winter Sun album Mike is joined by a number of musicians including Brian Gelfand (piano), Ronen Itzik (drums) and Danny Weller (bass). After decades of his trying to block it out of his memory, it turns out a lot of the Winter Sun tracks took Mike back to his being diagnosed with leukemia and his having to deal with chemotherapy at age 13.

Reflecting back on the title track to Winter Sun, Mike remembered, “I was treated at the UCONN health center in Farmington, Connecticut. The hospital was on top of a really tall hill overlooking a lot of trees and in the distance was the highway. With snow on the ground and no leaves on the trees, the sun seemed to shine brighter as I looked out the window. Thinking back can seem very real. As I thought about being in the hospital, I remembered being hooked up to lots of tubes and machines while throwing up for days. It can feel like I’m reliving these memories instead of just remembering. Then the flashback is over and I’m back. For me, this song encapsulates what it was like to look out the window and see that bright winter sun.”

Having performed with a number of high profile bands, including The Duke Ellington Band as well as artists like Ray Vega, Harvey S and Hank Jones, it turns out that Mike is also an in-demand clarinet player on the contemporary Klezmer music scene as well as having composed a number of film scores. In addition to his first album as a leader called Open Window, Mike has also made two trips to the African country of Uganda where he recorded a pair of albums includng I Love To Sing: Music of The Ugandan Jews. Combining elements of upbeat, smooth jazz and contemporary jazz on his latest solo album, Mike Cohen puts his musical artistry front and center with the enjoyable, jazzy instrumental sound of Winter Sun.