Nationality American Name Tony Cohan | Role Writer | |
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Born December 28, 1939 (age 84) New York, U.S. ( 1939-12-28 ) Notable works On Mexican TimeCanaryOpium Books On Mexican Time, Mexican days, Native State: A Memoir, Canary, The flame | ||
Tony Cohan (born December 28, 1939) is an American travel writer, novelist, and lyricist. His best known work of travel writing is On Mexican Time. His novel Canary was selected New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and his novel Opium was a Literary Guild Selection. His memoir Native State was chosen Los Angeles Times Notable Book of the Year. His essays, travel writings, and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Times of London.
He was a jazz drummer as a teenager, and attended Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1962, he drummed for Dexter Gordon and Bud Powell in Copenhagen. Later in that year, he drummed for Tete Montoliu and Memphis Slim in Barcelona. He worked as a studio musician with Lowell George, Ry Cooder, and others. During the 1970s he designed media campaigns for musical artists including Van Morrison, Pink Floyd, and Prince. In 1975 he founded the long-running independent press Acrobat Books, publishing nonfiction books in the arts.
He and his former wife Masako Takahashi relocated to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in 1985. San Miguel de Allende became the subject of On Mexican Time.