Rachael Cohen, a London-based alto saxophonist and composer, is one of the brightest emerging stars of her generation. Her skills as a composer and improviser have gained her a great deal of attention in the UK and beyond. The Guardian notes:
Originally hailing from the Shetland Islands, Rachael began her musical education on the piano at age 4. She picked up the saxophone five years later, and kindled an early passion for improvisation. When she was 12, Miss Cohen’s family moved south from the Shetland Islands to Edinburgh, and she enrolled in the acclaimed City of Edinburgh Music School. There she studied with some of the UK’s most admired musicians, including saxophonist Martin Kershaw and pianist Lynda Cochrane.
As lead Alto for a number of years in both the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland and Tommy Smith’s Youth Jazz Orchestra, she cut her teeth early playing alongside great British and International artists and regularly frequenting venues top Jazz venues across the UK.
2012 saw Rachael record her critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Halftime’ on Michael Janisch’s Whirlwind Recordings, which catapulted Cohen’s reputation to one of the premier new voices of her generation in the UK’s jazz and improvised music scene. Featuring top UK guitarist Phil Robson, ‘Halftime’ was highly praised nationwide and overseas upon it’s release in 2013 with four star reviews from major publications and earning her a spot in MOJO magazines top ten Jazz albums of 2014. MOJO magazine states