KENNESAW, Ga. | Sep 14, 2026

Internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Emmet Cohen will perform at Kennesaw State University on Oct. 3, bringing a grounded yet distinctly contemporary approach to one of America’s most enduring art forms.

Jazz is, at its heart, a conversation. 
 
It is a conversation between musicians on stage, between a performer and an audience, and -- perhaps most importantly -- a conversation across generations. Few contemporary jazz artists embody that idea as fully as pianist, composer and bandleader Emmet Cohen. 
 
On Saturday, Oct. 3, Cohen will bring that conversation to Kennesaw State University’s Bailey Performance Center for an ArtsKSU professional series presentation in Morgan Concert Hall. He will also spend time with KSU students through masterclasses, creating an opportunity for young musicians to encounter not simply a celebrated performer, but an artist deeply invested in how jazz is learned, shared and carried forward. 
 
Cohen has emerged as one of the most distinctive jazz artists of his generation. A technically formidable pianist with a profound command of jazz history, he moves comfortably among the stride, swing, bebop, blues and other traditions that form the music’s foundation while approaching them with the curiosity and energy of a contemporary artist. His career has included collaborations with jazz legends including Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Benny Golson, George Coleman, Tootie Heath and Houston Person, as well as work with artists including Christian McBride and Veronica Swift. 
 
But Cohen's relationship with jazz history goes beyond studying the recordings and repertoire of those who came before him. 
 
Through his Masters Legacy Series, Cohen has recorded and performed with legendary musicians of earlier generations, creating opportunities for younger musicians to learn directly from artists who experienced, and helped shape, critical chapters of jazz history. The project has become an exploration of the music's living lineage: what can be learned through proximity, collaboration, listening and simply being in the room with someone who has spent a lifetime making music. 
 
That spirit of exchange also informs Cohen's work as an educator. 
 
“Emmet Cohen represents so much of what makes jazz a vital and enduring art form,” said director of Jazz Studies at the Bailey School of Music Sam Skelton. “He has an extraordinary respect for the musicians and traditions that came before him, but he is equally interested in pushing the music forward and creating new connections with audiences. For our students, having an artist of Emmet’s caliber here is an opportunity to see that continuum up close, to learn from his musicianship, his curiosity and his generosity as a collaborator.” 
 
For KSU's Jazz Studies students, Cohen's visit offers a particularly valuable extension of what happens in the classroom. Masterclasses place students in direct conversation with working professionals, allowing them to explore not only technique and repertoire, but the listening, collaboration and creative decision-making that define life as a performing musician. 
 
And Cohen has demonstrated a remarkable ability to create that sense of connection beyond the traditional concert hall. 
 
During the pandemic, he began Live From Emmet's Place, a series of performances streamed from his New York apartment with his trio and a rotating cast of guest musicians. Inspired in part by the intimate Harlem rent-party tradition, the series transformed a difficult moment for live performance into an ongoing gathering place for musicians and listeners around the world. The performances have attracted millions of views and helped introduce Cohen and his collaborators to an audience far beyond the traditional jazz circuit. 
It is an approach that captures something essential about Cohen's artistry: his music is deeply informed by what came before, but it isn't interested in remaining there. 
 
His most recent album, Universal Truth, released in 2026, continues that exploration, adding another chapter to a body of work that embraces jazz as both history and living, evolving expression. 
 
For Kennesaw audiences, Cohen's Oct. 3 performance offers the chance to experience that evolution in person — an evening with a pianist who can reach backward into jazz's history while simultaneously asking what the music can become next. 
 
And for KSU's musicians, his visit offers something even more lasting: a chance to listen, play, ask questions and participate in the continuing conversation. 
 
 
ArtsKSU Presents: Emmet Cohen 
Saturday, Oct. 3 | 8 p.m. 
Bailey Performance Center, Morgan Concert Hall 
Kennesaw State University