Born in Baltimore, Jeff Cohen won first prizes in piano and chamber music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris before continuing his training with Leon Fleisher in the United States and Peter Feuchtwanger in England.
Currently a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, he has served as coach at La Monnaie in Brussels, musical director at the Théâtre du Châtelet, and advisor to the Bibliothèque nationale de France for a concert series devoted to French mélodie.
He has performed with many artists, including Roberto Alagna, June Anderson, Cecilia Bartoli, Yann Beuron, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Véronique Gens, Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel, Sumi Jo, Steve Lacy, Noël Lee, Ute Lemper, Pierre Lénert, Vincent Le Texier, Mady Mesplé, and Didier Sandre.
He has made numerous recordings, including a “live” recital at La Scala in Milan with Angela Gheorghiu; songs by Duparc, Fauré, Hahn, Gounod, and Loeffler with François Le Roux; and Mozart lieder on the fortepiano with Véronique Dietschy. He has worked as vocal coach on opera recordings with Bertrand de Billy, Christopher Hogwood, John Nelson, Michel Plasson, and Georg Solti.
Jeff Cohen conducted the orchestra for The Threepenny Opera directed by Giorgio Strehler at the Théâtre du Châtelet, assisted Myung-Whun Chung for Otello at the Opéra National de Paris, and collaborated with Patrice Chéreau on Hamletand Lucio Silla. He appeared in Peter Brook’s Impressions de Pelléas and performed with Fanny Ardant in Masterclass, directed by Roman Polanski. He served as musical studies director for Kurt Weill’s Street Scene with the Atelier lyrique of the Opéra National de Paris and toured with choreographer Blanca Li in her production Le Jardin des délices.
He composes for stage and film and created and hosted a children’s television program, Jeff d’orchestre, after collaborating with Philippe Meyer on Revenez quand vous voulez and Anicroches for French television. Jeff Cohen was named Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2006 and promoted to Commander in 2019.