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Montreal Gazette

A son's daunting duty: Adam Cohen a little overwhelmed by task of overseeing Leonard tribute

Though he has been consumed by grief, Adam Cohen still felt it was his duty to organize a concert paying tribute to his father, Leonard.

BRENDAN KELLY, MONTREAL GAZETTE

Published on: September 18, 2017

Adam Cohen, like his father, Leonard Cohen, has a way with words, and he has a remarkably poetic way of talking about everyday life. But when asked during an interview Monday morning what the year since his dad’s death has been like, Adam doesn’t beat around the bush when trying to describe his life since Cohen Sr. died last Nov. 7.

“It’s been terrible,” said Adam Cohen in a chat at the Musée d’art contemporain. “I’ve been irritable. They don’t prepare you for these kinds of things. They don’t prepare you for the wonderful birth of a child and they don’t prepare you for the loss of people who are beloved to you. I’m not sure if they did prepare you that it would serve much (purpose). It’s stirring and pivotal and in this case deeply, deeply disagreeable.”

Though he has been consumed by grief, Cohen still felt it was his duty to organize a concert paying tribute to his father, and he has spent months preparing Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen, which will take place at the Bell Centre Nov. 6. The lineup includes Sting, Lana Del Rey, Elvis Costello, Feist, Philip Glass, Damien Rice, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites from The Lumineers, Patrick Watson, k.d. lang and Adam Cohen. I suggested to Cohen that working on the show might be helping with the grief, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

“Not a drop, it just makes it worse,” Cohen said with a laugh. “Frankly, my pre-occupation with my father’s work, his being, his influence, the standard of excellence that I feel he’s owed has probably all been an undue burden on me. But this is what I feel he deserves, and I want to be part of this celebration.”

Cohen has followed in his father’s footsteps and is also a singer-songwriter, with four albums to his credit.

He said “it’s nervous-making” talking about the daunting task of pulling together this major concert. But he kept coming back in the conversation to the notion that he really had no choice in the matter.

“Now that it’s being announced, I’m rather intimidated,” Cohen said. “What have I done? Why have I done this? I know it’s out of filial devotion. My old man was very modest. It’s one of his chief distinguishing characteristics and he was so preoccupied with the work. Literally shaved his head, abandoned civilization and went on top of a mountain to meditate, while everyone else was worrying about what they were wearing and who they were (having sex with) and who they were allied with.

“As a result, money was stolen from him and he was left with the impression of a lower stature in society than I believe he actually had. So I grew up with a notion that he imparted to me, both that of his modesty and his lack of concern for celebrity. I grew up thinking he was just this (everyday) genius and fringe icon at best. And to see at the end of his career such a testimony from his community and peers and colleagues of admiration, love and warmth, and to see the span of his influence, that’s what I wanted to put on display.”


Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen takes place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Bell Centre. Tickets go on sale Saturday at noon and cost from $40.25 to $276.50 (including taxes and service fees). They will be available at evenko.ca and via 514-790-2525.

Leonard Cohen homage show in Montreal to feature Elvis Costello, Sting, k.d. lang

Beloved singer-songwriter's son, Adam Cohen, invites Montrealers to share their Cohen playlist with him

CBC News Posted: Sep 18, 2017

Calling on Leonard Cohen fans: The son of the beloved singer-songwriter and poet, Adam Cohen, is inviting you to let him know what songs of his father's they would like to hear on Nov. 6, when the elder Cohen will be commemorated in style on the first anniversary of his death.

The tribute concert, titled Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen, will take place at the Bell Centre, kicking off a week of events to celebrate Cohen's life.

Adam Cohen, the show's co-producer, will perform, along with Elvis Costello, Sting, Lana Del Rey, Feist, Philip Glass, k.d. lang, The Lumineers, Damien Rice, Patrick Watson — and others still to be announced.

"I would love to know what your audience is interested in," Adam Cohen told CBC Arts reporter Nantali Indongo.
"What songs would they like to hear? What artists that are not listed on the poster at the moment — what artists do you see that we don't have yet?" he asked, directing Leonard Cohen fans to the @CommanderCohen Instagram account.


Adam Cohen said he's been planning the Nov. 6 tribute concert for his father since the day Leonard Cohen died last year. (Charles Contant/CBC)

"I have a very clear idea of the playlist — the songs we can't not feature in the evening," Adam Cohen said. "But I don't want to dictate to anybody what they walk out humming in their souls."

"The most important thing to my old man, and the thing he was most proud of and thanked his audience for, is that they were keeping his songs alive. This is the next chapter of keeping my old man's songs alive, in the world."

Although the tribute concert was just announced today, Adam Cohen says he's been planning it since the day his father died.

"I've been the motor, the engine. It's been a passion quest," he said.

"My father left me with a list of instructions before he passed: 'Put me in a pine box next to my mother and father. Have a small memorial for close friends and family in Los Angeles…and if you want a public event, do it in Montreal,'" said Cohen earlier Monday, in a news release.

Cohen's love affair with Montreal has been well-documented. He grew up in Westmount and had a home just off the Main in the city's Plateau–Mont-Royal neighbourhood until he died.

Golden Globe winning director Jack Bender, known for his work on Game of Thrones, Lost and The Sopranos, will film the event for an upcoming special.

Tickets for the show go on sale Saturday, Sept. 23 at noon. Prices range from $40.25 to $276.50, fees not included.

A week of Leonard Cohen love

Cohen was 82 when he died.

The announcement of his death last November came two weeks after his final album, You Want It Darker, was released on Oct. 28, 2016.

Proceeds from the show will be shared by several of Canada's arts organizations, a cause near to Cohen's heart.
Leonard Cohen – A Crack in Everything will also debut that week. The exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art will feature commissioned work by filmmakers, visual artists and musicians including Quebec stars Ariane Moffatt, Jean Leloup and French singer Lou Doillon.

The exhibit was approved by the late songwriter before his death and will celebrate Cohen's life and work. It opens Nov. 9.

CBC/Radio-Canada is co-creating several original productions for the exhibition and broadcasting some special events and concerts.