By james art 
After two weeks of playing jazz cruises in the Caribbean, the applauded pianist Emmet Cohen on Earth is a concert by River City Jazz Masters in Baton Rouge.
Appearing with Emet Cohen Trio, the 34-year-old jazz star made her local debut on Thursday at the Manship Theater. The next day he went to the Jazz Bistro of Snug Harbour in New Orleans and then to Dallas and Austin, Texas.
“I like to share music,” Cohen said last week from Botti at Sea II cruise. “I consider music a gift that I try to honor in any way.”
Early Cohen participated in Louisiana with Helin Riley Quintet at the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. He counts Riley, a famous drummer, and pianist Sullivan Fortner, and both musicians born of New Orleans, among his dear friends.
“Knowing Hell and to be a part of his world gave me an idea of what it means to be from New Orleans,” Cohen said. “You can’t play jazz and not handle things in New Orleans. And I like to go there and connect with the community. This is one of my favorite places to make music. “
Jazz cruise and Botti in Sea II are also not a bad concerts. About 100 musicians deliver the music for travel.
“Things happens that would never happen on land,” Cohen said about marine congestion. “This is the cool part of it.”
Cohen met his jazz characters during the cruises and played with colleagues he sees often and not so often. He also served as a co-host of the 2025 jazz cruise.
“Which means I was an ambassador associated with fans and musicians,” he said.
During his last jazz cruise, Cohen performed with his former teacher at the Music School of Music at the University of Miami, Dean Shelton G. Berg. The mentor and the student also reunited for a concert before Cruise at the University of Miami, the All-Star event with other jazz cruise musicians, which was one of Cohen’s Live from Place online concerts.
“Shelton is one of my mentors and life mentors,” Cohen told Berg. “Every time I see him play, that’s meaningful. Many teachers teach you what they know, but it helps you become the best version of yourself. “
In 2020, Cohen started “live from Emmet’s place” from his apartment in Harlem, New York, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We were in it before I realized that we were making a Harlem rental party, something that happened in the 1920s in the same neighborhood,” he said. “And it was a powerful thing to invite people around the world in the living room and give them a momentary photo of modern New York.”
Cohen appreciates the concerts and videos of Emmet live and the number 40 million views.
“It was an incredible opportunity,” he said about the streams. “If I only played in clubs, I could spend my whole life trying to get 40 million views.”
Cohen grew up in Coral Gables, Florida and New Jersey. He began playing the piano at 3 years through the Suzuki method based on classical music.
“Somewhere along the line,” he said. “I found jazz. Tell me. I have heard records of Frank Sinatra over the years. I saw Jimmy Smith and Monty Alexander play when I was little. I heard the music and felt it. The joyful feeling of swing made me so happy. It connects with your emotions, expressing how you feel right now, celebrating the moment. “
During his senior year at the Frost Music School, Cohen was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk 2011 piano competition. In 2019, he won the prestigious American pianists competition. And he is a regular presence in the critics of Downbeat magazine and readers’ polls.
In addition to his performances on the trio of Emmet Cohen and the Web shows “Live From Emmet’s Place”, Cohen released five albums “Masters Legacy Series”, cooperation with jazz Jimmy Cobt, Ron Carter, Benny Goldson, Toti Heath and George Cowman and Houston man.
“Some of them have lost some of their technique because of their age,” Cohen told the older jazz masters. “But they filtered their game only to the most important notes. These masters find the most important aspect of the music statement. This is something I strive for and comes from the wisdom of experience. “