Blake Cohen

Blake Cohen was born during the "Blizzard of '75", in Denver, Colorado. He began playing guitar after hearing Jimi Hendrix for the first time on a fishing boat in the Red Sea. Since High School, Blake has played a variety of musical styles including Blues, Jazz, Rock, Reggae, Funk, Punk, Folk and Country. He believes in the cross-pollination of Jazz with other idioms and genres, and his tone and style reflect that. Besides Jimi, His influences are Charlie Christian, Charles Mingus, Lester Young, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jelly Roll Morton, Luther Tucker, Little Walter, JJ Cale, Ry Cooder, Connie Crothers, Bird, Brando, Bukowski, Elway, Ali and Agnon, among many other great writers, musicians, actors, athletes and thinkers. Says Blake of his artform; "I believe Jazz is the one true American Artform, and America will only be saved when Jazz gets it's comeuppance!" He has been accused of being a Jazz Zealot.Blake is involved in many musical projects, including his bands; The Blake Cohen Group, The Thrill-Ride Orchestra, Service Dogs, Brooklyn Round Trio, and Fatum Mater. He is also involved with many other musical projects, including teaching and film scoring.Blake began acting in 2003, and has appeared in print, television advertisements, and several films, including Southern Belles, for which he also wrote and performed a song. Southern Belles can be seen on The Sundance Channel, and is available on DVD through Netflix and Amazon.