Al Cohn
Alvin Gilbert Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist Zoot Sims.
Al Cohn

Salem State Archives · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Al Cohn
- Birth Name
- Alvin Gilbert Cohn
- Born
- 24 November 1925
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
- Died
- 15 February 1988
- Place of death
- Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Musician
- Full name
- Alvin Gilbert Cohn.
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz
- Education
- Erasmus Hall High School
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Documentary summary
Alvin Gilbert Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist Zoot Sims.
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museum · 996b444f-2f1c-4f41-bb85-c3b9a709c9bf · wikidata · Q1382232 · wikipedia · Al Cohn
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Al Cohn • Birth Name — Alvin Gilbert Cohn • Born — 24 November 1925 • Birthplace — Brooklyn, New York, U.S. • Died — 15 February 1988 • Place of death — Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Genre — * Big band • West coast jazz • Occupation — * Musician • composer • bandleader • Instrument — Tenor saxophone • Years Active — 1940s–1980s • Label — * Savoy • RCA Victor • Coral • Mercury • Xanadu • Concord • Timeless
Biography
Biography
Cohn was born in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to his work as a jazz tenor saxophonist, Cohn was widely respected as an arranger. His work included the Broadway productions of Raisin and Sophisticated Ladies, and his arrangements of his own compositions were recorded by big bands led by Maynard Ferguson, Gerry Mulligan, Terry Gibbs and Bob Brookmeyer. Cohn also arranged for unreleased Linda Ronstadt recordings from the 1980s. In June, 1972, Cohn appeared on stage with Elvis Presley, as a member of the Joe Malin Orchestra at Madison Square Garden. Cohn died of liver cancer in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania in 1988. Cohn's first wife was singer Marilyn Moore. His son, Joe Cohn, is a jazz guitarist. Granddaughter Shaye Cohn, Joe's daughter, is a musician who plays cornet with her band Tuba Skinny.
As leader/co-leader
As leader/co-leader
• Al Cohn's Tones (Savoy, 1950) • East Coast-West Coast Scene (RCA Victor, 1954) split album with Shorty Rogers • Mr. Music (RCA Victor, 1955) • The Natural Seven (RCA Victor, 1955) • That Old Feeling (RCA Victor, 1955) • Four Brass One Tenor (RCA Victor, 1955) • The Brothers! (RCA Victor, 1955) with Bill Perkins and Richie Kamuca • From A to...Z (RCA Victor, 1956) The Al Cohn/Zoot Sims Sextet • The Sax Section (Epic, 1956) • Cohn on the Saxophone (Dawn Records, 1956) • The Al Cohn Quintet Featuring Bobby Brookmeyer (Coral, 1956) – with Bob Brookmeyer • Tenor Conclave (Prestige, 1957) – with John Coltrane, Hank Mobley and Zoot Sims • The Four Brothers... Together Again! (Vik, 1957) with Serge Chaloff, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward • Al and Zoot (Coral, 1957) with Zoot Sims • Jazz Alive! A Night at the Half Note (United Artists, 1959) with Zoot Sims and Phil Woods • You 'n' Me (Mercury, 1960) – the Al Cohn/Zoot Sims Quintet • Son of Drum Suite (RCA Victor, 1960) • Either Way (Fred Miles Presents, 1961) with Zoot Sims • Jazz Mission to Moscow (Colpix, 1962) • Al & Zoot in London (World Records Club, 1965) • Easy as Pie: Live at the West Bank (Label M, 1968) with Zoot Sims • Body and Soul (Muse, 1973) with Zoot Sims • Motoring Along (Sonet, 1974) with Zoot Sims • Play It Now (Xanadu, 1975) • True Blue (Xanadu, 1976) with Dexter Gordon • Silver Blue (Xanadu, 1976) with Dexter Gordon • Al Cohn's America (Xanadu, 1976) • Heavy Love (Xanadu, 1977) with Jimmy Rowles • No Problem (Xanadu, 1979) • Xanadu in Africa (Xanadu, 1980 [1981]) with Billy Mitchell, Dolo Coker, Leroy Vinnegar and Frank Butler • Night Flight to Dakar (Xanadu, 1980 [1982]) with Billy Mitchell, Dolo Coker, Leroy Vinnegar and Frank Butler • Nonpareil (Concord, 1981) with Lou Levy, Monty Budwig, Jake Hanna • Tour De Force (1981) live in Japan, with tenor players Buddy Tate and Scott Hamilton • Standards of Excellence (Concord, 1984) • The Claw (Chiaroscuro, 1986) with Flip Philips • Rifftide (Timeless, 1987) with Rein de Graaf (piano), Koos Serierse (bass), Eric Ineke (drums)
As sideman
As sideman
With Manny Albam • The Drum Suite (RCA Victor, 1956) with Ernie Wilkins With Mose Allison • Your Mind Is on Vacation (Atlantic, 1976) With Trigger Alpert • Trigger Happy! (Riverside, 1956) also released as East Coast Sounds With George Barnes • Guitars Galore (Mercury, 1961) With Art Blakey • Art Blakey Big Band (Bethlehem, 1957) With Bob Brookmeyer • Bob Brookmeyer featuring Al Cohn (Storyville, 1954) • Brookmeyer (Vik, 1956) • Kansas City Revisited (United Artists, 1958) • Stretching Out (United Artists, 1958) with Zoot Sims • Portrait of the Artist (Atlantic, 1960) • Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments (Verve, 1961) With Kenny Burrell • Earthy (Prestige, 1957) With Buck Clayton • How Hi the Fi (Columbia, 1954) • Jumpin' at the Woodside (Columbia, 1955) With Miles Davis • The Compositions of Al Cohn (Prestige, 1953) • Miles Davis and Horns (Prestige, 1956) With Jimmy Giuffre • The Music Man (Atlantic, 1958) With Freddie Green • Mr. Rhythm (RCA Victor, 1955) With Urbie Green • All About Urbie Green and His Big Band (ABC-Paramount, 1956) With Coleman Hawkins • The Hawk in Hi Fi (RCA Victor, 1956) With Woody Herman • The Thundering Herds (Columbia, 1945-1947 [1966]) • Keeper Of The Flame (The Complete Capitol Recordings Of The Four Brothers Band) (Capitol, 1948-1949 [1992]) With Quincy Jones • Quincy Plays for Pussycats (Mercury, 1959-65 [1965]) With Jack Kerouac • Blues and Haikus (1960) With Jimmy Knepper • Cunningbird (SteepleChase, 1976) With Mundell Lowe • Satan in High Heels (Charlie Parker, 1961) soundtrack With the Metronome All-Stars • Metronome All-Stars 1956 (Clef, 1956) With Gary McFarland • The Jazz Version of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" (Verve, 1962) With Carmen McRae • Birds of a Feather (Decca, 1958) With Gerry Mulligan • The Gerry Mulligan Songbook (World Pacific, 1957) With Joe Newman • All I Wanna Do Is Swing (RCA Victor, 1955) • I'm Still Swinging (RCA Victor, 1955) • Salute to Satch (RCA Victor, 1956) With Oscar Pettiford • Oscar Pettiford Sextet (Vogue, 1954) With Lalo Schifrin and Bob Brookmeyer • Samba Para Dos (1963, Verve)
As arranger
As arranger
With Maynard Ferguson • Come Blow Your Horn (Cameo, 1963) [1 track] With Astrud Gilberto • Look to the Rainbow (Verve, 1966) With Quincy Jones • The Birth of a Band! (Mercury, 1959) • The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones (Mercury, 1959) With Irene Kral • The Band and I (United Artists, 1958) • SteveIreneo! (United Artists, 1959) With Gerry Mulligan • Holliday with Mulligan (DRG, 1961 [1980]) with Judy Holliday With Mark Murphy • That's How I Love the Blues! (Riverside, 1962) With Joe Newman • The Happy Cats (Coral, 1957) With Herb Pomeroy • The Band and I (United Artists, 1958) with Irene Kral
Identity
Identity
Al Cohn is recorded as composer, saxophonist and musician.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1988
Al Cohn died at Stroudsburg.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
US.
Country
Al Cohn was born in New York City.
Birthplace
Al Cohn died in Stroudsburg.
Deathplace
New York City.
Birth place
Stroudsburg.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Cohn, Al (1925-1988), jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger, American National Biography Online, 2000
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2000
- Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, Jazz Anecdotes, 2005
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2005
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Al Cohn
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
reference work
- “Al Cohn”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Cohn, Al (1925-1988), jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger, American National Biography Online, 2000Crossref registry
VerifiedInstitutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Al CohnMetaBrainz Foundation
Verifiedscholarly publication
Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, Jazz Anecdotes, 2005Crossref registry
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
(MusicBrainz artist record for Al Cohn) • Birthplace: Al Cohn was born in New York City.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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