"Rhythm is a contact sport for Ari Hoenig"
- Nate Chinen, NEW YORK TIMES
“Ari Hoenig is one of the most maniacally obsessive, spasmodic and musical drummers in jazz”
- Jazz Times
Ari Hoenig is a jazz drummer, composer, and educator known for his unusual and intense approach to drumming emphasizing complex rhythms in direct harmony with other group members. Ari is widely noted particularly for his drumming not being relegated to just keeping tempo, or being a side issue to the music he plays in, but rather for elevating drumming as an indispensable part of the performance.
Born on November 13, 1973 in Philadelphia, Ari Hoenig, was exposed at an early age to a variety of musical experiences. His father is a conductor and classical singer, his mother a violinist and pianist. Accordingly, at 4 years of age, Ari began studying the violin and piano. He began playing drums at age twelve, and by age fourteen he was honing his skills with other young jazz musicians at Philly clubs such as Ortlieb’s JazzHaus.
After moving to Brooklyn, Ari began playing extensively with a variety of groups, including Jean Michel Pilc Trio, Kenny Werner Trio, Chris Potter Underground, Kurt Rosenwinkel Group, Joshua Redman Elastic band, Jazz Mandolin Project and bands led by Wayne Krantz, Mike Stern, Richard Bona and Pat Martino. Since then Ari has been leading several bands including a quintet with Shai Maestro on piano, Gilad Hekselman on guitar, Tivon Pennicott on Sax and Orlando Le Fleming on bass, a trio with Nitai Hershkovits on piano and Or Bareket on bass, as well as various duos with Chris Potter, Edmar Casteneda, JD Walter and Dan Weiss.
Recent highly acclaimed releases include “Ari’s Funhouse” (OAM). Ben Markley Big Band with Ari Hoenig. Ari teamed up with arranger/pianist Ben Markley to record an album of his compositions with a full 19 piece big band from the Denver area and a trio recording “Golden Treasures” (Fresh Sound). Golden Treasure features Ari’s current working trio of Gadi Lehavi and Ben Tiberio and documents Ari’s composing and other general musical activities during the pandemic. The record is indicative of Ari’s cinematic style of songwriting.