Keren Ann + Avishai Cohen feat. Big Vicious

A One-Time, High-Voltage Encounter

Avishai Cohen – trumpet, synthesizer | Uzi Feinerman – guitar | Yonatan Albalak – guitar, bass, loops | Aviv Cohen – drums | Keren Ann – vocals, guitar

Keren Ann is one of the most acclaimed and successful international singer-songwriters. Born in Israel, she launched a wide-ranging international career that serves as a unique cultural bridge between Tel Aviv, Paris, and New York. Her celebrated debut album, La Biographie de Luca Philipsen, won her the Album of the Year and Female Singer of the Year awards in France. Her global breakthrough came in 2003 with the album Not Going Anywhere. Since then, she has released more than ten additional studio albums, collaborated with musical legends such as David Byrne, Iggy Pop, and Françoise Hardy, and established an elegant musical language combining intimate folk, French chanson, and powerful rock. In 2025, she released her latest album, Paris Amour, and is currently undertaking a successful worldwide tour in its wake.

Taking the stage in Eilat with Keren Ann is her longtime friend, international trumpeter Avishai Cohen, one of the most decorated and leading voices on the global jazz scene and an artist signed to the prestigious ECM label. Cohen has been a prominent figure on the international scene for many years and is considered one of the finest jazz trumpeters of his generation. The New York Times dubbed him a “multicultural jazz musician.” Cohen was named Europe’s “Best Foreign Jazz Artist,” and his albums regularly rank among the top five on worldwide jazz charts, alongside collaborations with leading figures in the genre.

Alongside the two, Cohen’s acclaimed electric band, Big Vicious, will take the stage. Formed in New York, the band presents a unique and uncompromising sound. The ensemble operates in a nonstandard format, giving its musicians room for characteristic exploration and enabling them to reach new musical realms that fuse rock ’n’ roll, psychedelic grit, and modern jazz in a wonderful synergy, generating the explosive energy of “dynamic electricity.”

The artistic and personal connection between Keren Ann and Avishai Cohen has continued successfully since 2003, and over the years the two have shared stages around the world. Now, in honor of the festival’s 40th edition, they present a special, multidimensional project: a joint performance that will exclusively combine Keren Ann’s magnificent repertoire, Avishai Cohen’s compositions, and Big Vicious’s electric pieces in new arrangements. In this extraordinary performance, the musicians will interpret and perform one another’s works together, offering a stormy and surprising musical dialogue moving along the boundary between hot rock, live electronics, and hypnotic modern jazz.

Performance duration: 70 minutes