Emmet Cohen\u2019s apartment in Harlem turned into a live jazz club as a way for the musician to keep connected during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Cohen, born in Miami and a Frost School of Music at the University of Miami grad, talks about how his YouTube series \u201cLive from Emmet\u2019s Place,\u201d which now has more than 240,000 subscribers, got its start during the pandemic. It didn\u2019t start with a grand vision; it began with a canceled gig in Kansas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the pandemic happened, all the gigs were canceled. And we were prompted by the people in Kansas\u2014they were like, \u2018We want to support the artists. We\u2019ll give you the full fee for the gig. Just do something online.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
He says he wanted to take that offer seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my band in Harlem, we were kind of in a bubble at that time and we put on suits and ties and went to my apartment and brought Kyle\u2019s drums over.\u201d Cohen recalls Kyle Poole, his drummer, walking the drums down Edgecombe Avenue and then up the stairs of the fifth-floor walk-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were so lonely and things were so uncertain. We were able to provide this safe space to come\u2014that you knew the music was going to be good, you knew the people were going to be cool. And I think I learned a lot in that time about consistency and about what\u2019s special about music and community, beyond just the notes and the rhythms.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the show grew, so did its reach. The apartment eventually gave way to a legendary studio.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe moved this year Power Station in New York City, which is the top recording studio in the city. And now it\u2019s a monthly thing. We\u2019ve gotten over 100 million views in the last six years or so.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Emmet](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Emmet-Cohen-Photo-courtesy-artist-management-1-1024x556.jpeg\" "\\"Emmet-Cohen-Photo-courtesy-artist-management-1-1024x556.jpeg\\"")
Emmet Cohen started his popular YouTube music series during the pandemic out of his Harlem apartment and it quickly gained a following. (Photo courtesy of artist management) <\/p>\n
While the living room series was born in New York, Cohen says the foundation was laid in Miami.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife definitely keeps leading me back here,\u201d says Cohen, who\u2019ll perform in the touring version of \u201cLive from Emmet\u2019s Place\u201d with his trio and a couple of special guests on Friday in the Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center.<\/p>\n
Cohen grew up in Coral Gables and went to Palmetto Elementary School, but his family then moved to New Jersey. The pull to Miami led him back to the University of Miami and now recently retired dean Shelley Berg.<\/p>\n
Cohen tells the story of their first meeting. Berg was leading The Jazz Band of America, a group of high school players, for a show in Indianapolis, of which Cohen was a part.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the largest audience I had ever seen in my life. And I was getting to play, warming up and banging on the piano keys.\u201d He remembers Berg putting his hand on his shoulder and saying, \u2018If you come study with me at the University of Miami, I\u2019ll teach you how to play the piano without putting it out of tune.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then while at UM, he had what he calls a full-circle moment.<\/p>\n
![\"Emmet](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Patrick-Bartley-Photo-2-683x1024.jpg\" "\\"Patrick-Bartley-Photo-2-683x1024.jpg\\"")
Emmet Cohen\u2019s band will feature Gammy-nominated saxophonist Patrick Bartley, also a Miami native, in a special guest appearance. (Photo courtesy of the artist) <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a kid I used to be in this Saturday music program called Keyboards for Kids when I was in elementary school and it took place at the University of Miami. One day I realized I was taking courses in the same building. There I was in the same building but at a different point in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s soundscape, he says, also had an influence on this playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s such a diverse, diverse place\u2026 especially Latin culture,\u201d he says. \u201cHearing those sounds early on definitely gave me kind of a molding that I might not have gotten in other places. There\u2019s always Spanish around. There\u2019s always Latin music\u2026 all these little things that happen when you\u2019re from there, I think are definitely part of my being. Every time I come back, I just smell the air, and it just feels like I\u2019m meant to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
And because Miami is so special to him, Cohen says he\u2019s put together \u201ca band with a few of the greatest musicians in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
On saxophone is Patrick Bartley, also from Miami. \u201cHe\u2019s highly regarded as one of the greatest saxophone players alive today, and he\u2019s been around the world and I\u2019m bringing him back for the show. One of the most popular YouTube videos that I made was with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s Bronx-born trumpeter Bruce Harris. \u201cHe was also on that video and they are two of the most dynamic musicians, so we\u2019ll augment the trio, my regular group, with these two special guests.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Coral](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Emmet-Cohen-Photo-courtesy-artist-management-1-683x1024.jpg\" "\\"Emmet-Cohen-Photo-courtesy-artist-management-1-683x1024.jpg\\"")
Coral Gables-born and Frost School of Music graduate Emmet Cohen says Miami had a great influence on his music stylings. (Photo courtesy of artist management) <\/p>\n
They\u2019ll join Cohen on piano, bassist Russel Hall and drummer Kyle Poole, the guy who dragged his drums down Edgecombe Avenue.<\/p>\n
Inside the Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht, audiences will be transported to the living room in Cohen\u2019s Harlem apartment \u2014 the comradery and the comfort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s something in the show for everyone\u2014for jazz students, for hip people who love the art scene, or older folks who love the Great American Songbook. I have strong beliefs about music and its capacity to heal and to just provide this blanket of comfort and security in a time when there\u2019s so much in the world that\u2019s going on\u2026 to watch people improvise together and try to create something together that\u2019s greater than any of the individuals. Miami is a special place for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you go:<\/p>\n
WHAT: Emmet Cohen\u2019s \u201cLive at Emmet\u2019s Place\u201d<\/p>\n
WHEN: 8 p.m., Friday, May 8.<\/p>\n
WHERE: Knight Center at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami<\/p>\n
COST: $52.65 \u2013 $152.10, includes fees<\/p>\n
INFORMATION: 305-949-6722 or arshtcenter.org\/jazz<\/p>\n
ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music, and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emmet Cohen\u2019s apartment in Harlem turned into a live jazz club as a way for the musician to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-260245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}