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About Ari Hoenig
Sila Cevikce: A New Abode
by Mark F. Turner
The art of jazz composition and improvisation are fully stated as Turkish born pianist Sila Cevikce provides some solid and noteworthy music on her debut release A New Abode. Since arriving in the U.S in 1993 she has sharpened her skills both academically at Berklee and professionally in performances with New York musicians as well as composing music for film and theater. What quickly becomes apparent is the depth, style, and articulation of Cevikce's muscial ideas which have influences from ...
Continue ReadingThe Solo Recordings of Ari Hoenig
by David A. Orthmann
As evidenced by his two solo recordings, Time Travels (1K Recordings) and The Life Of A Day (Ah Ha Records), Ari Hoenig is an unusually resourceful artist who transcends the limitations of working with a conventional four-piece drum kit and a few cymbals. Introducing a system of replicating the exact pitches of melodies, Hoenig plays a cornucopia of songs, ranging from jazz standards ("Caravan," Oleo," Night In Tunisia") to less-than-fashionable ditties ("Pop Goes The Weasel," Reveille," I've Been Workin' On ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig: The Painter
by Terrell Kent Holmes
Drummer Ari Hoenig has just released The Painter , an octet of songs recorded either live or in closed session at Fat Cat, the phoenix from the ashes of what had been the legendary Greenwich Village club Smalls, which shut its doors last year.The bulk of the songs are composed by Hoenig, but a dazzling version of Monk's I Mean You" opens things up. He lays down a Roach-like opening snare groove, dancing nimbly with pianist Jean-Michel Pilc and the ...
Continue ReadingBohemian Revolution: Ari Hoenig at Twins Jazz
by Franz A. Matzner
I ordered a drink from Twins Jazz’s master of ceremonies, Joseph Beasley, whose ever-pleasant attitude and energy single-handedly warmed the club’s otherwise somewhat cool atmosphere and took a look around the room. It was still early. On stage, surrounding the bass, drums, and propped open music cases lay a jumble of loose sheet music, lead wires and half-empty glasses. In one corner, threatening to bury drummer and band leader Ari Hoenig’s beautiful, custom made set, stood a precarious heap of ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig: The Painter
by Franz A. Matzner
Few drummers assume the role of composer—and with rare exception when they do, the results often sacrifice the finer points of melodic and harmonic development in favor of arrangements focused on complex tempo changes, dynamic shifts, unusual rhythmic structures, and of course, extra-long drum solos. While such pieces often successfully—and justifiably—illustrate overlooked and under-appreciated aspects of drumming, they are also likely to lack broad appeal. As exhibited on The Painter, however, virtuoso instrumentalist, bandleader, arranger, and composer Ari Hoenig is ...
Continue ReadingAri Hoenig: The Life of a Day
by Phil DiPietro
The worldwide botherhood of the drums is hereby kicked in the pants! Ari Hoenig's work in the ensembles of Jean-Michel Pilc, Seamus Blake, Jonathan Kreisberg, Pat Martino, and Wayne Krantz has extended the art of jazz drumming into the future. He's done this via telepathic interaction with soloists, forging his own brand of swing and exerting an absolutely uncanny ability to mine melodicism from the kit. For most drummers, continuing on this road of excellence would be enough.
Now, unaccompanied ...
Continue ReadingJonathan Kreisberg: Trioing
by Phil DiPietro
Some weird synergy was responsible for me perusing the current issue of Jazz Times while listening to guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg's astounding straight-ahead debut. An uncanny association occurred when I read Branford Marsalis's assertion, made during a blindfold test (while listening to a different player), that he would, ban all guitar from jazz records" and stick them in Foxwoods commercials, in perpetuity", precisely while being blindsided by Kreisberg's 90 second rendition of Have You Met Miss Jones?" I sincerely doubt Branford's ...
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