Mike Cohen offers Kirtan that blends soulful, high-energy chants and sweet, devotional songs from the Dattatreya lineage of Shirdi Sai Baba and Swami Kaleshwar. Featured vocalists Joni Allen and Allie Stringer are touring and recording veterans of the Dave Stringer band. The band's first album will be released in early 2009. A former professional jazz saxophonist, Mike Cohen studied at Eastman School of Music and performed across the US with R&B singer Jane Powell, the 1989 NACA Performer of the Year. Mike discovered Kirtan in early 2000, falling in love with the practice. He sings and plays harmonium while leading Kirtan events that feature original music. In the Fall of 2006 Mike launched First Friday Kirtan in Columbus, Ohio. By the summer of 2007, this monthly event had grown to over 100 participants, making it one of the larger ongoing and active Kirtan scenes in the US.