a little bit more about ethan

some dear accomplishments in both word and sound include:

performing as a drummer

after picking up drum sticks 20 years ago, i'm grateful to have performed in concerts across the united states at distinguished stages—from los angeles's nokia theatre to the pritzker pavilion in chicago's millennium park—and to have shared the bandstand with music luminaries such as patti austin, cassandra wilson, joe lovano, and wallace roney.

while still a teen, i was selected by national and international audition to perform as a member of both the grammy jazz ensemble and the jazz band of america. and, after moving to new york in 2009, i've gone on to work with piano masters johnny o'neal, james weidman, and bill carrothers; bass virtuoso morrie louden; composer-pioneer jorge sylvester's conceptual motion orchestra; grammy-nominated saxophonist tim armacost; and many others playing the great black american music known as jazz.

contributing my writing in distinguished capacities

my words have been published in ghanaian cultural hero and guitarist koo nimo's autobiography, six strings and a note: legendary agya koo nimo in his own words. koo—with whom i lived while studying in ghana—requested my contribution to a chapter alongside renowned scholars john collins, royal hartigan, abena busia and others.

i was also commissioned to compose the liner notes for chase baird's groundbreaking 2019 album, a life between, which features jazz giants brad mehldau and antonio sanchez.

other honors:

—after graduating cum laude with a bachelors from columbia university in 2013, i received honors from the anthropology department for my thesis on gift donations in a union square street performance (in which i played drums).

—education is supremely important to me. and so, with the acclaimed ed-tech start-up story2, i spent six years writing and delivering workshops on storytelling to young people and adults alike, leading trainings in cities and universities across the country and internationally—including a 3-day workshop with both students and teachers at the renowned yungu school in hangzhou, china. indeed, i even led the translation of story2's innovative concept-product into mandarin.

—i spent three years composing 30 successful "extraordinary-ability" artist visa profiles, both for new york city's visa law pros and independently.

i've fortunate to encounter some great human beings.

the master teachers with whom i've been blessed to work include:

—master drummer marvin bugalu smith, new york—

—master drummer joel spencer, in chicago—

—groundbreaking anthropologist, michael taussig, while attending columbia university—

—world-renowned guitarist and philosopher, koo nimo in ghana, west africa—

—koo's master drummer, sammy—

—ray king, bucket drumming pioneer, with a research grant from columbia university—

—mark mcrae, new york streets historian and master funk drummer—

—george brandon, foundational scholar of santería studies and award-winning composer—

—dr. carol barash, phd, founder of story2

—candice ackermann, renowned immigration lawyer in new york—

—my father, norberto kogan, master businessman—

please go investigate their remarkable creations!