Art Of Time Ensemble: “Songs Of Leonard Cohen Live” (2022) CD Review

I count myself fortunate that I was able to see Leonard Cohen in concert several times in several different cities, and that I once got to meet the man. He has my vote for the all-time best songwriter. His songs have had a strong effect on so many people, which is clear by the number of tributes to his music. Art Of Time Ensemble’s new tribute, Songs Of Leonard Cohen Live, was recorded in Toronto (the city where I first saw Leonard Cohen in concert), at Harbourfront Centre Theatre. Art Of Time Ensemble is a group of jazz and classical musicians, formed and led by Andrew Burashko, and based in Toronto. On this album, the group is made up of Andrew Burashko on piano, Robert Carli on saxophone and clarinet, Sarah Harmer on vocals, Gregory Hoskins on vocals and guitar, Sheila Jaffe on violin, Amy Laing on cello, Steven Page on vocals, Rob Piltch on guitar, Joseph Phillips on double bass, Sarah Slean on vocals, and Tom Wilson on vocals and guitar. For this tribute, they’ve made some interesting song selections. “Hallelujah” is here, of course, but very few of the early favorites are present. No “Suzanne” or “Sisters Of Mercy” or “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye.” Instead, these musicians leave room to focus on the later part of Leonard Cohen’s career – the 1990s and beyond – taking on material that is not covered as often, while still offering a few songs from those early albums as well. These tracks were recorded live in February of 2018 as part of a Leonard Cohen tribute.

The song Leonard Cohen chose to open his concerts during his last several tours was “Dance Me To The End Of Love,” and that is the song this group chooses to open this disc. And it’s a gorgeous rendition, featuring some magnificent work, particularly on violin. And I love the clarinet. Those opening moments briefly call to mind the beginning of “Rhapsody In Blue.” There is a European vibe to this rendition, and that instrumental section in the middle is incredibly moving. Sarah Harmer provides the vocals here, and does an excellent job. This track is the perfect opening for this special release. It is followed by “Treaty,” a powerful song from the end of Leonard Cohen’s career, included on the album You Want It Darker, released just a couple of weeks before his death in 2016. This rendition begins with some moving work on strings. Gregory Hoskins (known for his work in The Stick People) sings lead on this track. It is part prayer, part love song, expressing loss and need. “We sold ourselves for love but now we’re free/And I’m so sorry for that ghost I made you be/Only one of us was real and that was me.”

“A Singer Must Die” is a song from New Skin For The Old Ceremony, released in 1974. On this rendition, Steven Page (known for his work in Barenaked Ladies) sings lead, and delivers a passionate performance. The track then becomes like a light dance, with the strings and the “la la la” vocals. This compelling rendition slows down at the end. That’s followed by one of my personal favorites, “Anthem,” which comes from Leonard Cohen’s 1992 album The Future. Sarah Slean delivers a fantastic vocal performance. “So ring the bells that still can ring/Forget your perfect offering/There is a crack, a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in.” Those lines pop into my head quite often, and are more and more meaningful to me as I get older. Then Sarah Harmer returns to sing lead on “Come Healing,” a song from Old Ideas, released in 2012. I saw Leonard Cohen perform this one in Los Angeles in 2012, and it was a highlight of the first set. This rendition has an undeniable beauty.

Art Of Time Ensemble gives us an interesting and unusual take on “Closing Time,” another song from The Future. It begins as a more moody number, delivered at a slower tempo, feeling like a very late night at a dark bar. It then grows in attitude and power, picking up the pace, and featuring some really nice work on saxophone and piano. Tom Wilson (whom you know from Blackie And The Rodeo Kings) sings lead on this track. The band slows things down at certain key points, such as on the lines “Well, I loved you for your beauty/But that doesn’t make a fool of me/You were in it for your beauty too.” It took me some time to get used to this version, but it has seriously grown on me, and now I’m kind of in love with it. It has a wonderful ending. That’s followed by a smoky, jazzy rendition of “Boogie Street,” featuring Gregory Hoskins on vocals. I love the way this one begins with bass and vocals, with that horn occasionally blowing over it. It becomes a sort of dark and intriguing dance. This song comes from Ten New Songs, which was released in 2001.

“The Partisan” is an interesting choice, since it was not composed by Leonard Cohen. It was written in the 1940s by Anna Marly. Leonard Cohen covered it on Songs From A Room, released in 1969. So this is sort of a cover of a cover, and in fact it is a cover of a cover of an adaptation, since Leonard Cohen used some of the English lyrics written by Hy Zaret. Anyway, Sarah Harmer gives an incredible and powerful vocal performance on this track. That is followed by “Dress Rehearsal Rag,” a song from Songs Of Love And Hate, released in 1971. By the way, the cover of this Art Of Time Ensemble album is a nod to the cover of that album. Sarah Slean’s vocal performance here is phenomenal. And this isn’t the easiest of songs to tackle, in part because of its intensity. This rendition includes some unusual touches. It is followed “I’m Your Man,” this version presented like a dance, which makes sense, for the approach is very much like a dance, the way he offers himself in various ways, taking steps, seeing what works. Steven Page sings lead, and the arrangement is by Kevin Fox. Tom Wilson then returns for “Who By Fire,” a song from New Skin For The Old Ceremony. The approach here is likely more in line with what you’re used to regarding Leonard Cohen covers, vocals and acoustic guitar, and so actually comes as something of a surprise on this album.

I’m not sure you could release a Leonard Cohen tribute these days without including “Hallelujah.” This song is from my personal favorite Leonard Cohen album, Various Positions, which was released in 1984, apparently to very little notice. It wasn’t until John Cale covered it and then the version by Jeff Buckley was released that a lot of people began to take another look at this song. There are famously a lot of verses to this song, so there is always a question of which verses an artist will choose to sing when covering it. There are only four verses on the original studio recording, but in concert in later years Leonard Cohen sang other verses. The song is quite different on his 1994 live album Cohen Live. And then during those later tours, he sang six verses, taking a few from the studio version, and a few from the later version. Most artists seem to choose between four and six verses when covering this song. This version by Art Of Time Ensemble contains seven. Gregory Hoskins and Steven Page sing on this rendition. It begins, as almost all versions do, with the “secret chord” verse, followed by the “bathing on the roof” verse, just as the original studio recording did. The group then gets into the verses Leonard Cohen performed in concert, beginning with “I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor,” following it with the “what’s really going on below” verse and then the “maybe there’s a god above” verse. What is interesting here is that after that verse, this version then returns to the studio version for the “You say I took the name in vain” verse. There is a pretty instrumental section then before the song’s final verse, “I did my best, it wasn’t much.” This is certainly a strong rendition, and it clocks in at nine and a half minutes. The album then concludes with a reprise of “Treaty.” It begins as an instrumental, the vocals not coming in until halfway through. This is such an interesting way of concluding the album, leaving us with the lines, “I wish there was a treaty/Between your love and mine.”

CD Track List

1. Dance Me To The End Of Love
2. Treaty
3. A Singer Must Die
4. Anthem
5. Come Healing
6. Closing Time
7. Boogie Street
8. The Partisan
9. Dress Rehearsal Rag
10. I’m Your Man
11. Who By Fire
12. Hallelujah
13. Coda/Treaty (Reprise)

Songs Of Leonard Cohen Live was released on September 29, 2022.