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About Ari Hoenig
Ari Hoenig: Lines of Oppression
by John Kelman
When Bill Evans began building trios that represented a collaboration of equals rather than soloist accompanied by rhythm section, it's unlikely the late pianist could have envisioned the way Jean-Michel Pilc, bassist François Moutin and drummer Ari Hoenig wowed fans at a 2011 Ottawa International Jazz Festival performance. Bringing new meaning to the phrase egalitarian," each and every member was clearly capable of pushing the music in a new direction, so keenly attuned were they to each other. Hoenig, in ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig Quartet: Niu's Jazz & Blues Bar, Bangkok
by Ian Patterson
Ari Hoenig Quartet Niu's Jazz & Blues Bar Silom, Bangkok, Thailand November 5, 2009
There is no other drummer quite like New Yorker Ari Hoenig. Watching him play is like marveling at a cross between Animal, the wild drummer of Muppets fame, and Max Roach. His approach to drumming is intense above all, ferocious even at times, and yet his harmonic manipulation of his kit is subtlety itself. The crowd at Niu's Jazz ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig: Bert's Playground
by Elliott Simon
The varied contexts in which drummers play make their own sessions as leaders either spottily uneven or dynamically diverse. For Bert's Playground, drummer Ari Hoenig has gathered a troop of six musicians that includes two bassists, guitarists and saxophonists that he mixes and matches to illuminate the fun to be had. After receiving a gentle push from Hoenig and bassist Matt Penman, guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and tenor saxophonist Chris Potter swing hard on Trane's Moment's Notice." Guitarist ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig and Punk Bop at the Regattabar, Boston
by Michael Epstein
Ari Hoenig and Punk Bop Regattabar Boston, Massachusetts April 8, 2008 On Tuesday, April 8, drummer Ari Hoenig and his Punk Pop trio featuring Gilad Hekselman on guitar and Orlando LeFleming on bass played at Boston's Regattabar. Although he can be heard as a sideman on numerous recordings and performances with artists such as Kenny Werner, Jean-Michel Pilc, Chris Potter and Kurt Rosenwinkel, Hoenig has made a unique niche for himself as ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig: Inversations
by Terrell Kent Holmes
Drummer Ari Hoenig has always created emotionally satisfying and challenging jazz, and his streak continues with Inversations. The bebop classic Anthropology begins with an interplay between Hoenig on drums and pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, with bassist Johannes Weidenmueller on pizzicato. The trio executes this classic jazz groove to perfection, playing with the tempo and displaying the tune's plasticity. Dark News, an impressionistic yet sly piece written by Hoenig, complete with haunting piano and moody arco, begins as though it will be ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig: Inversations
by J Hunter
There is nothing unusual about drummers as leaders (Blakey, Max Roach, Roy Haynes), or drummers taking less-traveled roads while soloing (Eric Harland, Brian Blade). Ari Hoenig follows both these arcs on Inversations, although there's no question the former Joe Lovano sideman works to separate himself from the current pack.
Hoenig and his compatriots, pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, bassist Johannes Weidenmueller, are thinking outside the box from the jump, starting with their take on the Charlie Parker/Dizzy Gillespie proto-bop composition ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig: Kinetic Hues
by Jim Santella
The Ari Hoenig Group Kinetic Hues Smalls Records 2005
When truly creative artists get together, they issue a memorable proclamation. Ari Hoenig and Jean-Michel Pilc throw ideas around the room like rockets and missiles, as they work out in the intimate performance space at Fat Cat with a live audience to spur them on. Their music rains fire all night long.
Since it's Hoenig's date, the camera emphasizes his work ...
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