[Cover photo credit to Evelyn Freja]
Pianist, composer, and bandleader Emmet Cohen has recently released Jazz album Vibe Provider via Mack Avenue Records. Through the years, Cohen has traveled the world and served as an ambassador for Jazz tradition. However, it’s his friendship with the Harlem-based creative Michael Funmi Ononaiye, the original “Vibe Provider” per his nickname, that has most profoundly shaped his musical journey.
On Vibe Provider, Cohen blends original compositions and classics, dedicated to the memory of his late friend and mentor, alongside an all-star band including Bruce Harris (trumpet), Tivon Pennicott (tenor saxophone), Frank Lacy (trombone), Cecily Petrarca (koshkah), Philip Norris (bass), Joe Farnsworth (drums), and Kyle Poole (drums, producer).
Michael Funmi Ononaiye, who died of cancer in December 2023, worked as a chief programmer for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and as a DJ and an A&R executive, among other professional roles. The Nigerian-born New Yorker was seen as an “omnipresent force of positivity and spiritual healing” Cohen says, whose “generous presence could elevate any gig, festival or dancefloor.”
Ononaiye was someone who opted not to own a smartphone, preaching “a message of authentic experience.”
Cohen recalls:
He often used to talk about how we’re too clogged up with information. Too much news consumption, too much phone, too much everything, and we don’t leave enough space for possibility.
When the pandemic hit and Cohen developed the Live at Emmet’s Place concept, Ononaiye would often be the lone audience member and the band still felt as if they were gigging in a packed club. As the series gathered steam, Ononaiye became an invaluable resource, suggesting lineups and making connections.
Cohen reflects:
Funmi was the vibe provider, but he taught us that we all have that inside of us. We all have the ability to brighten a room or to change someone’s world for a minute or a lifetime—with music, vibrations, energy or even just a smile. And those things are important. So I wanted to get some of his favorite musicians together and make a beautiful statement in tribute. That was the concept of this album.
US Tour Dates:
9/22: Pittsburgh, PA – Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival 2024
10/3 – 10/6: New York, NY – SMOKE Jazz Club
10/11 – 10/12: Philadelphia, PA – Chris’ Jazz Cafe (w/ Joe Farnsworth and “Time To Swing”)
10/14: Hilton Head Island, SC – Jazz For All Ages Jazz Festival (feat. special guest Kurt Elling)
11/03: Lexington, KY – Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts
11/04: Cincinnati, OH – Caffè Vivace
11/07 – 11/10: Chicago, IL – Jazz Showcase
11/13: New York, NY – Dizzy’s Club (w/ Joe Farnsworth and “Time To Swing”)
11/15: Minneapolis, MN – Dakota
11/16: Germantown, TN – Germantown Performing Arts Center
11/17: Indianapolis, IN – The Jazz Kitchen
11/19: Columbia, MO: Whitmore Recital Hall (“We Always Swing” Jazz Series)
11/20 – 11/24: St. Louis, MO – Jazz St. Louis
12/3 – 12/7: New York, NY – Birdland
1/10: Miami Beach, FL – South Beach Jazz Festival (feat Georgia Heers and Tivon Pennicott)
1/13: New York, NY – Birdland (Celebrates Miles and Coltrane w/ Bruce Harris & Tivon Pennicott)
1/16: Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
1/18: Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
1/27: Coral Gables, FL – UM Maurice Gusman Concert Hall
1/28: Fort Lauderdale, FL – The Jazz Cruise
2/04: Fort Lauderdale, FL – Botti at Sea ’25
2/20: Baton Rouge, LA – Manship Theatre
2/22: Richardson, TX – The University of Texas at Dallas
2/28: Mamaroneck, NY – Emelin Theatre
3/21: Sarasota, FL – Sarasota Jazz Festival
3/30: Scottsdale, AZ – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
4/4: Santa Monica, CA – CA Broad Stage
4/5: Costa Mesa, CA – Segerstrom Center for the Arts (feat. Anat Cohen and Terell Stafford)
4/10 – 4/13: Seattle, WA – Jazz Alley (feat. Houston Person)
5/16 – 5/17: Boston, MA – Scullers Jazz Club
5/18: Buffalo, NY – Art of Jazz
