Dirty In Detroit Liner Notes

I could write about Emmet Cohen's love of the past or his love of the moment. I could write about his captivating, sparkle-and-slam piano approach: the rock-solid confidence in his rhythmic feel. The drama and wake-you-up exaltation in his reading of old-time standards and blues. I could drop names - players of the past who also turned familiar melodies into thrill-filled joyrides.

I could mention Cohen's years of classical training that serve him well, and the ongoing Masters Legacy Series that he started: making music in the studio and onstage with veterans like Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Benny Golson, and Albert "Tootie" Heath.

I could highlight the joy Cohen so clearly draws on, bouncing ideas back and forth with the musicians in his groups - even laying out when one of them steps forward. Check the segue into "Squeeze Me” — primarily a solo by bassist Russell Hall - and what follows, how each of the players reacts. One can hear the smiles on their faces, and in the audience too.

I could write about all these things at length but after listening to these tracks for the tenth or twelfth or twenty-seventh time it seems too obvious. I believe the most effective liner notes bring you to the music and then let go of your hand. Go, listen.

You're on your own.

But before you hit Play, there are a few things that'll deepen the appreciation of Cohen's new album. You should know the music and the applause and the yelps of delight all happened on the same evening, during the same set, at Grosse Pointe's Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe - just east of downtown Detroit. So the title.

You should also know that this music features young talent worth watching - Cohen, Hall, and drummer Kyle Poole. With them, it's quickly clear that Cohen belongs behind the wheel of the sports-car format of jazz, the modern piano trio: smooth-shifting, road-hugging, hard-braking.

Also, Cohen used this particular concert to celebrate the legendary Thomas "Fats" Waller: a monster on the keys and an eye-rolling mugger on stage, a maestro and an entertainer. Among African-Americans, his balance of popular success and musical genius had no equal until Nat Cole. His best-known tunes - "Ain't Misbehavin', "Squeeze Me," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Jitterbug Waltz" - are still favored by older and younger players alike.

The Waller tunes Cohen chose originally comprised an extended medley that closed the set. They are re-sequenced here: an effective programming choice that spreads Fat's spirit and humor and storytelling throughout the album.

Speaking of Fats - years ago I came across a Dennis the Menace cartoon I cut out and hung on my refrigerator. In it, Dennis heads for the door, pulling on a jacket, telling his parents who are getting ready to play an LP of Bach music: "See ya later - I'm goin' over to the Wilson's and listen to some Fats Waller."

I loved the idea of Dennis as a young hipster. The way I read that cartoon initially, he was already distancing himself from his parent's generation in all his pre-adolescent bravado, using music to figure out his own identity and taste.

That cartoon's still up on the fridge but now with a different meaning. Over time, much like that drawing that can be seen as a vase or two faces, my perception shifted. This isn't about a disconnect, I came to realize. This is about an unlikely connection between Mr. Wilson and Dennis, a pensioner and a preadolescent troublemaker. Music as the bridge over a generational gap of more than 50 years.

That's the same message I hear in Cohen's music. The past has not passed. It still has much to teach us and if we allow it, it still fits in comfortably with all that is modern and new and fresh. All we have to do is listen.

• ASHLEY KAHN, AUGUST 2018