Ari Hoenig Trio

Born in Philadelphia in 1973, jazz drummer, composer, and educator Ari Hoenig explores the melodic possibilities of the drums with his natural inquisitive nature. He is known for his unusual and intense approach to drumming, which emphasizes complex rhythms in direct harmony with his fellow musicians. Rather than reducing drumming to keeping time, Ari elevates it to an essential part of the performance. He adjusts the pitch of his drums using drumsticks, hands, and elbows. This technique allows him to play any note in the chromatic scale, and virtually any melody. He improvises on a chord structure in the same way that any other instrumentalist would.

Hoenig was born into a family of classically trained musicians. His father was a choir director and his mother a violinist. As a result, Ari was exposed to classical and folk music at an early age. As a child he played both piano and violin, then rock and metal drums as a teenager, before moving on to jazz and improvised music. The list of musicians he collaborated with is impressive. From Joshua Redman to Mike Stern and from Pat Metheny to Richard Bona.

Ari has released about fifteen albums so far. On his latest album Tea for two he works together for the second time in succession with pianist Gadi Lehavi and double bassist Ben Tiberio. Ari: "This group continues to grow and offers new musical paths every-time we play together."