Max Roach (1924-2007), one of the pioneers of modern jazz drumming during the 1940s bebop era.

Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum set, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz-rock fusion and 1980s-era latin jazz. The techniques and instrumentation of this type of performance have evolved over several periods, influenced by jazz at large and the individual drummers within it. Stylistically, this aspect of performance was shaped by its starting place, New Orleans,^[1] as well as numerous other regions of the world, including other parts of the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa.^[2]

Jazz required a method of playing percussion different from traditional European styles, one that was easily adaptable to the different rhythms of the new genre, fostering the creation of jazz drumming's hybrid technique.^[3] As each period in the evolution of jazz—swing and bebop, for example—tended to have its own rhythmic style, jazz drumming continued to evolve along with the music through the 20th century. One tendency that emerged over time was the gradual "freeing" of the beat. But older styles persisted in later periods. The borders between these periods are unclear, partly because no one style completely replaced others, and partly because there were numerous cross influences between styles.

Early history[link]

Preliminary cultural mixing[link]

The rhythms and use of percussion in jazz, as well as the art form itself, were products of extensive cultural mixing in various locations. The earliest occasion when this occurred was the Moorish invasion of Europe, where the cultures of France, Spain, and Africa to some extent, encountered each other and most likely exchanged some cultural information.^[1] The influence of African music and rhythms on the general mix that created jazz was profound, though this influence did not appear until later.

African influence[link]

There are several central qualities shared by African music and jazz, most prominently the importance of improvisation.^[1] Some instrumental qualities from African music that appear in jazz (especially its drumming) include using unpitched instruments to produce specific musical tones or tone-like qualities, using all instruments to imitate the human voice,^[2] superimposition of one rhythmic structure onto another (e.g., a group of three against a group of two), dividing a regular section of time (called a measure in musical terms) into groups of two and three, and the use of repetitive rhythms used throughout a musical piece, often called clave rhythms.^[4] This last quality is one of special importance, as there are several pronounced occurrences of this pattern and the aesthetics that accompany it in the world of jazz.

Clave[link]

	African clave The clave used most commonly in Africa, based on a feeling of three. 2-3 clave A musician playing a 2-3 clave.
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The clave (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈklaβe]) is integral to Caribbean music as well, because African slaves were brought to the Caribbean islands, particularly Cuba. It functions as a tool for the musicians of these cultures to keep time as well as determine which beats in a composition should be accented. In Africa, the clave is based on division of the measure into groups of three, on which only a few beats are emphasized. The Cuban clave, derived from the African version, (of which there are several variations) is composed of two measures, one with three beats, one with two. The measures can be played in either order, with either the two or three beat phrase coming first, and are labeled "2-3" or "3-2", respectively.

Apart from this small flexibility, the musical element has several very strict rules regarding its use. For a piece to be "in clave", all emphasized notes must be either on the beats of the clave or, if not, be equalized by notes on the clave beat; the beat of the piece must alternate between off-beat and on-beat phrases depending on which measure was placed first (see also Back beat); and, if the clave is originally off but resolves itself, the piece may still be considered to be in clave.^[5]

Within the jazz band, phrases known as "comping patterns" have included elements of the clave since the very early days of the music.^[5] The word "comping" comes from the words "accompany" and "complement", and, in terms of how it applies to music, comping is support of other musicians, often soloists, and echoing or reinforcement of the composition. A phrase known as "The Charleston" (which originated as part of the dance of the same name) is a common example of an application of the clave in jazz, specifically comping. It is a pattern almost identical to that of the two beat measure of the son clave, one version of the clave from Cuba. Another method of integrating the clave with jazz is to rephrase a composition rhythmically to correspond with it.

Cuban influence[link]

A chart of the evolution of Cuban music shows influences from Africa, France, and Spain.

The culture that created the most commonly used version of this pattern was that of Cuba. The circumstances that created that music and culture were very similar to those that created jazz; French, African, Spanish, and native Cuban cultures were all combined in Cuba and created many popular musical forms as well as the clave, which was a rather early invention. The music also affected the development of a variant of jazz, known as Latin jazz.

Latin jazz[link]

Jelly Roll Morton, an early jazz pianist and composer, referred to a "Spanish Tinge" in his and other musicians' compositions, largely based on influence from tango and habanera rhythms.^[6] Simultaneously, however, musicians from Cuba were hearing American styles, such as ragtime and some earlier varieties of jazz.^[7] The 1940s and 1950s were the peak periods of development in the new subgenre, influenced by the nationwide fad of mambo dancing (and its accompanying music, of the same name). Bandleader Dizzy Gillespie made important contributions as well, by incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms into big band music.

Latin jazz is generally characterized by the use of even note combinations, as opposed to the "swung" notes common in most other varieties of jazz.^[8] It is also heavily influenced by the clave, and composers of the music require a knowledge of the workings of percussion in Afro-Cuban music—the instruments must combine with each other in a logical fashion.^[7] The specific genre of Afro-Cuban jazz draws its influence specifically from the traditional rhythms of Cuba, rather than from the entire Caribbean and other parts of the world.^[7]

American influence[link]

The military drumming of America, predominantly fife and drum corps, in the 19th century and earlier supplied much of the technique and instrumentation of the early jazz drummers. Influential players like Warren "Baby" Dodds and Zutty Singleton used the traditional military drumstick grip, military instruments, and played in the style of military drummers using rudiments, a group of short patterns which are standard in drumming.^[2] The rhythmic composition of this music was also important in early jazz and beyond. Very different from the African performance aesthetic, a flowing style which does not directly correspond to Western time signatures,^[4] the music played by military bands was rigidly within time and metric conventions, though it did have compositions in both duple and triple meter. The equipment of the drummers in these groups was of particular significance in the development of early drum sets. Cymbals, bass, and snare drums were all used. Indeed, a method of damping a set of cymbals by crunching them together while playing bass drum simultaneously is probably how today's hi-hat, a major part of today's drum set, came about.^[2] Military technique and instrumentation were undoubtedly factors in the development of early jazz and its drumming, but the melodic and metric elements in jazz are more easily traced to the dance bands of the time period.

Dance bands[link]

Black drummers were able to acquire their technical ability from fife and drum corps,^[2] but the application of these techniques in the dance bands of the 19th century allowed a more fertile ground for musical experimentation. Slaves learned traditional European dance music that they played at their masters' balls, most importantly a French dance called the quadrille, which had a particular influence on jazz and by extension jazz drumming. Musicians were also able to play dances that originated in Africa and the Caribbean in addition to the European repertoire. One such dance was the "congo".^[2] The performers of this novel music (to the predominantly white audience) created music for their own entertainment and uses as well.

Slave traditions[link]

The Old Plantation (late 1700s), illustrating some slave traditions.

Slaves in America had many musical traditions that became important to the music of the country, particularly jazz. The work song was one of these traditions, an improvised system of singing based on the idea of call and response, a central aspect of African music. There were also several instrumental improvisation techniques that were used: after work was done, these people would hold musical performances in which they played on pseudo-instruments made of washtubs and other objects newly used for musical purposes, and also played rhythms on their bodies, called "pattin' juba".^[2] The only area that slaves were allowed to perform their music, other than private locations, was a place in New Orleans called Congo Square.^[1]

Congo Square and New Orleans[link]

The decision to allow this type of performance was a very unusual one for the city's government to make, as all other regions had instituted very restrictive laws regarding the musical performance of slaves, and even New Orleans had legislation that eliminated essentially every other aspect of the African culture. Nevertheless, the former Africans were able to play their traditional music, which started to intermingle with the sounds of the many other cultures in New Orleans at the time: Haitian, European, Cuban, and American, as well as many other smaller denominations. However, the people playing in Congo Square were not of the younger generation, the one traditionally associated with innovation and new attitudes toward mixing culture, but older musicians. They used drums almost indistinguishable from those made in Africa, though the rhythms were somewhat different from those of the songs of the regions the slaves were from, probably the result of their having lived in America for several generations. A large number of musicians that played in Congo Square were from the Caribbean as well.^[9] Because of the extensive exposure that Congo Square performance had in New Orleans and the differences noted between it and traditional West African song, this location is regarded as the birthplace of jazz in New Orleans.

Blues[link]

	Shuffle pattern The shuffle pattern, derived from the pattin' juba rhythm.
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Another important influence to jazz was the blues, an expression of the hardships experienced daily by slaves, in direct contrast to the work song, a celebration of work. Its musical inspiration came from where its players did, Africa. The rhythmic form of blues was a basis for many developments that would appear in jazz. Though its instrumentation was mostly limited to melodic instruments and a singer, feeling and rhythm were tremendously important. The two primary feels were a pulse on alternating beats that we see in countless other forms of American music, and the shuffle, which is essentially the pattin' juba rhythm, a feel based on a division of three rather than two.^[10]

Second line[link]

One of the final influences on the development of early jazz, specifically its drumming and rhythms, was Second line drumming. The term "Second line" refers to the literal second line of musicians that would often congregate behind a marching band playing at a funeral march or Mardi Gras celebration. There were usually two main drummers in the second line: bass drum and snare drum players. The rhythms played were improvisatory in nature, but similarity between what was played at various occasions came essentially to a point of consistency, and early jazz drummers were able to integrate patterns from this style into their playing as well as elements from several other styles.^[11]

Ragtime[link]

Before jazz came to prominence, drummers often played in a style known as ragtime, where an essential rhythmic quality of jazz first really began to be used: syncopation. Syncopation is synonymous with being "off-beat", and it is, among many things, a result of placing African rhythms written in odd combinations of notes (e.g., 3+3+2) into the evenly divided European metric concept.^[5] Ragtime was another style derived from black musicians playing European instruments, specifically the piano, but using African rhythms.

Modern jazz drumming[link]

Early technique and instrumentation[link]

A drum set used in 1921 includes several accessories, including multiple cowbells.

The first true jazz drummers had a somewhat limited palette to draw from, despite their broad range of influence. Military rudiments and beats in the military style were essentially the only technique that they had at their disposal. However, it was necessary to adapt to the particular music being played, so new technique and greater musicianship evolved. The roll was the major technical device used, and one significant pattern was simply rolling on alternate beats.^[3] This was one of the first "ride patterns", a series of rhythms that eventually resulted in a beat that functions in jazz as the clave does in Cuban music: a "mental metronome" for the other members of the ensemble. Warren "Baby" Dodds, one of the most famous and important of the second generation of New Orleans jazz drummers, stressed the importance of drummers playing something different behind every chorus. His style was regarded as overly busy by some of the older generation of jazz musicians such as Bunk Johnson.

Beneath the constant rhythmic improvisation, Dodds played a pattern that was only somewhat more sophisticated than the basic one/three roll, but was, in fact, identical to the rhythm of today, only inverted. The rhythm was as follows: two "swung" eighth notes (the first and third notes of an eighth note triplet), a quarter note, and then a repeat of the first three beats (sound sample "Inverted ride pattern" at right). Aside from these patterns, a drummer from this time would have an extremely small role in the band as a whole. Drummers seldom soloed, as was the case with all other instruments in earliest jazz, which was based heavily on the ensemble. When they did, the resultant performance sounded more like a marching cadence than personal expression.^[3] Most other rhythmic ideas came from ragtime and its precursors, like the dotted eighth note series.

1900s to 1940s[link]

An image of Sonny Greer with his drum set, which included timpani among other accessories.

The drummers and the rhythms they played served as accompaniment for dance bands, which played ragtime and various dances, with jazz coming later. It was common in these bands to have two drummers, one playing snare drum, the other bass. Eventually, however, due to various factors (not the least of which being the financial motivation), the number of drummers was reduced to one, and this created the need for a percussionist to play multiple instruments, hence the drum set. The first drum sets also began with military drums, though various other accessories were added later in order to create a larger range of sounds, and also for novelty appeal.

The most common of the accoutrements were the wood block, Chinese tom-toms (large, two-headed drums), cowbells, cymbals, and almost anything else the drummer could think of adding. The characteristic sound of this set-up could be described as "ricky-ticky": the noise of sticks hitting objects that have very little resonance.^[2] However, drummers, including Dodds, centralized much of their playing on the bass and snare drums.^[12] By the 1920s and '30s, the early era of jazz was ending, and swing drummers like Gene Krupa, Chick Webb, and Buddy Rich began to take the bases laid down by the early masters and experiment with them. It was not until a bit later, however, that the displays of technical virtuosity by these men were replaced by definite change in the underlying rhythmic structure and aesthetic of jazz, moving on to an era called bebop.

Bebop[link]

To a small extent in the swing era, but most strongly in the bebop period, the role of the drummer evolved from an almost purely time-keeping position to that of a member of the interactive musical ensemble. Using the clearly defined ride pattern as a base, which was brought from the previous rough quality to the smooth, flowing rhythm we know today by "Papa" Jo Jones, as well as a standardized drum set, drummers were able to experiment with comping patterns and subtleties in their playing.^[12][13] One such innovator was Sidney "Big Sid" Catlett. His many contributions included comping with the bass drum, playing "on top of the beat" (imperceptibly speeding up), playing with the soloist instead of just accompanying him, playing solos of his own with many melodic and subtle qualities, and incorporating melodicism into all of his playing.^[14] Another influential drummer of bebop was Kenny Clarke, the man who switched the four beat pulse that had previously been played on the bass drum to the ride cymbal, effectively making it possible for comping to move forward in the future.^[15] Once again, this time in the late 1950s and most of the '60s, drummers began to change the entire basis of their art. Elvin Jones, in an interview with Down Beat magazine, described it as "a natural step".^[16]

1950s and 1960s[link]

During this time, the drummer took on an even more influential role in the jazz group at large, and started to free the drums into a more expressive instrument, allowing them to attain more equality and interactivity with the other parts of the ensemble. In bebop, comping and keeping time were two completely different requirements of the drummer, but afterward, the two became one entity. This newfound fluidity greatly extended the improvisatory capabilities that the drummer had.^[17] The feel in jazz drumming of this period was called "broken time", which gets its name from the idea of changing patterns that had previously been rigid. The repetitive nature of the ride pattern and the steady pulse of the hi-hat were almost eliminated.

Rhythm sections, in particular those of John Coltrane and Miles Davis, the former including Elvin Jones; the latter, Tony Williams, Philly Joe Jones, and Jimmy Cobb, were also exploring new metric and rhythmic possibilities. The concept of manipulating time, making the music appear to slow down or race ahead, was something that drummers had never attempted previously, but one that was evolving quickly in this era. Layering rhythms on top of each other (a polyrhythm) to create a different texture in the music, as well as using odd combinations of notes to change feeling, would never have been possible with the stiffness of drumming in the previous generation. Compositions from this new period required this greater element of participation and creativity on the part of the drummer.

Elvin Jones, a member of John Coltrane's quartet, developed a novel style based on a feeling of three partly due to the fact that Coltrane's pieces of the time were based on triple subdivision.^[16] Also, because of the greater space in this new style both rhythmically and harmonically, greater experimentation was much easier to attain. Musicians were not encumbered by as many aspects of bebop, like the extremely high tempos and quick chord changes.

Free jazz[link]

Throughout the history of jazz drumming, the beat and playing of the drummer have become progressively more fluid and "free", and in avant-garde and free jazz, this movement was largely fulfilled.^[13] A drummer named Sunny Murray is the primary architect of this new approach to drumming. Instead of playing a "beat", Murray sculpts his improvisation around the idea of a pulse, and plays with " … the natural sounds that are in the instrument, and the pulsations that are in that sound”.^[18] Murray also notes that his creation of this style was due to the need for a newer kind of drumming to use in the compositions of pianist Cecil Taylor.^[18]

See also[link]

• Beat
• List of jazz drummers

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jazz drumming

• Article on the rhythmic aspects of jazz improvisation
• Chronology of jazz drum set transcriptions
• Jazz drummers discuss the art

Eric Harland
Harland performing in Munich Germany with the SFJAZZ Collective on March 10, 2010
Background information
Born	(1976-11-08) 8 November 1976 (age 35) Houston, Texas United States
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Musician, Bandleader
Instruments	Drums
Associated acts	Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, McCoy Tyner
Website	Eric Harland

Eric Harland (born November 8, 1976) is an American jazz drummer.

Besides leading his own group Harland has performed with many renowned artists, including Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Joshua Redman, Ravi Coltrane, Kenny Garrett, Dave Holland, Charles Lloyd, Michael Brecker, Terence Blanchard, Walter Smith III, Chris Potter, Aaron Parks, Aaron Goldberg, Taylor Eigsti, Julian Lage, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Patitucci, and Zakir Hussain, among others.

He is also a member of the SFJAZZ Collective.

Biography[link]

Harland began his professional career in 1993 playing locally in Houston, Texas as he finished high school at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where many of today's stars have studied. Harland won first chair in 1992-1993 with the Regional and All State Texas Jazz Band. He received a special Citation for Outstanding Musicianship in 1994 from the International Association of Jazz Educators. During a workshop in high school, Wynton Marsalis encouraged Harland to study in New York City.

After graduation, he attended the Manhattan School of Music with a full scholarship in their music program. After music school he went on to study Theology at Houston Baptist University (College of Biblical Studies) to become an ordained Minister.

Harland has been featured on over 80 recordings with various artists. Among these recordings, Let's Get Lost and Wandering Moon (Terence Blanchard), Back East (Joshua Redman), and Land Of Giants (McCoy Tyner) were nominated for Grammy Awards. With Terence Blanchard and Spike Lee, Harland has performed on 18 motion picture movie scores including The Caveman's Valentine, Original Sin, People I Know, and Dark Blue.

In Down Beat's 65th Annual Readers Poll, Harland was included on the short list of world's most recognized drummers along with Elvin Jones and Roy Haynes. He also won the 2008 and 2009 Critics Polls for Rising Star on the drums. Harland was featured in the September 2002 and November 2009 issues of Modern Drummer.

Harland released his debut album, Voyager: Live By Night in late 2010. It features Walter Smith III, Taylor Eigsti, Julian Lage, and Harish Raghavan.

Endorsements[link]

Harland currently plays Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Vic Firth Sticks.

Discography[link]

As Leader[link]

• Voyager: Live By Night

As Sideman[link]

With Charles Lloyd

• Jumping The Creek
• Sangam
• Rabo de Nube
• Mirror
• Athens Concert

With Aaron Parks

• Invisible Cinema

With Taylor Eigsti

• Lucky To Be Me
• Let It Come To You

With Walter Smith III

• Casually Introducing Walter Smith lll
• III

With McCoy Tyner

• Land of Giants

With The Monterey Quartet

• Live at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival

With Terence Blanchard

• Let's Get Lost
• Wandering Moon
• Bounce

With Dave Holland

• Pass It On

With Joshua Redman

• Back East
• James Farm

With Kenny Garrett

• Standard Of Language

With The 3 Cohens

• Braid

With Jimmy Greene

• Gift and Givers
• True Life Stories
• "Mission Statement"

With Joel Weiskopf

• Devoted To You

With John Swana

• On Target

With Aaron Goldberg

• Tuning Point
• Unfolding
• Worlds
• Home

With Kurt Rosenwinkel

• The Remedy

With Edward Simon

• The Process

With Greg Osby

• "Inner Circle"
• Further Ado

With The SFJAZZ Collective

• SF Jazz Collective Live 2005
• SF Jazz Collective Live 2006
• SF Jazz Collective Live 2007
• SF Jazz Collective Live 2008
• SF Jazz Collective Live 2009
• "SF Jazz Collective Live 2010"
• "SF Jazz Collective Live 2011"

With Dayne Stephens

• The Timeless Now

With Zhenya Strigalev

• Smiling Organizm

Filmography[link]

• Bo Jangles
• Bamboozled
• Original Sin
• People I Know
• The Caveman's Valentine
• Dark Blue
• Pig Hunt

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eric Harland

• Official Website
• Blog
• Jazz Times
• Myspace

Joseph Rudolph (Philly Joe) Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was a Philadelphia-born American jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.^[1]

Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones. The two died only a few days apart from each other.

Biography[link]

In 1947 he became the house drummer at Café Society in New York City, where he played with the leading bebop players of the day. Among them, the most important influence on Jones was Tadd Dameron. Jones toured and recorded with Miles Davis Quintet from 1955 to 1958 – a band that became known as "The Quintet" (along with Red Garland on piano, John Coltrane on sax, and Paul Chambers on bass).^[2] Miles acknowledged that Jones was his favorite drummer^[2] (in his autobiography, Davis mentions that he would always listen for Jones in other drummers).

From 1958 onwards Jones worked as a leader, but continued to work as a sideman with other musicians, including Bill Evans and Hank Mobley. Evans also openly admitted that Philly Joe was his all-time favorite drummer. For two years (1967–69) he taught at a specially organized school in Hampstead, London, but was prevented from otherwise working in the UK by the Musicians' Union.

From 1981 he helped to found the group Dameronia, dedicated to the music of the composer Tadd Dameron, and led it until his death.^[2] He also played in two movies.

Discography[link]

As leader[link]

• 1958: Blues for Dracula (Riverside Records)
• 1959: Drums Around the World: Philly Joe Jones Big Band Sounds (Riverside)
• 1959: Showcase (Riverside)
• 1960: Philly Joe's Beat (Atlantic)
• 1961: Together! (Atlantic) - with Elvin Jones
• 1968: Mo' Joe (Black Lion)
• 1977: Mean What You Say (Sonet)
• 1977: Philly Mignon (Galaxy)
• 1978: Drum Songs (Galaxy)
• 1979: Advance! (Galaxy)
• 1981: Octet (Marge)
• 1982: To Tadd with Love (Uptown)

As sideman[link]

With Miles Davis

• Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet (1956)
• Cookin' with The Miles Davis Quintet (1956)
• Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet (1956)
• Workin' with The Miles Davis Quintet (1956)
• Steamin' with The Miles Davis Quintet (1956)
• 'Round About Midnight (1957)
• Porgy and Bess (1958)
• Milestones (1958)
• Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)
• The Musings of Miles (1955)

With others

• Clifford Brown – Memorial Album (1953; Blue Note)
• J.R. Monterose – J. R. Monterose (1956; Blue Note)
• Sonny Rollins – Tenor Madness (1956; Riverside)
• Bennie Green- Bennie Green with Art Farmer (1956)
• Sonny Rollins – Newk's Time (1957; Blue Note)
• John Coltrane – Blue Train (1957; Blue Note)
• Joe Castro – Mood Jazz (1957; Atlantic)
• Art Pepper – Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (1957; Riverside)
• Clark Terry – In Orbit (1958; Riverside)
• Jimmy Smith – Softly as a Summer Breeze (1958; Blue Note)
• Bill Evans – Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1958; Riverside Records)
• Blue Mitchell – Big 6 (1958; Riverside)
• Sonny Clark – Cool Struttin' (1958; Blue Note)
• Bud Powell – Time Waits (1958; Blue Note)
• Freddie Hubbard – Goin' Up (1960; Blue Note) Hub Cap (1961; Blue Note) Here to Stay (1962; Blue Note)
• Dexter Gordon – Dexter Calling... (1961; Blue Note)
• Blue Mitchell – Smooth as the Wind (1961; Riverside)
• Hank Mobley – Hank (1957; Blue Note) Poppin' (1957; Blue Note) Workout (1961; Blue Note) Another Workout (1961; Blue Note) No Room for Squares (1963; Blue Note)
• Milt Jackson & Wes Montgomery – Bags Meets Wes! (1962; Riverside)
• Bill Evans – California Here I Come (1967; Verve)
• Archie Shepp – Archie Shepp & Philly Joe Jones – (1969; America)
• Red Garland – Keystones! (1977; Xanadu Records)

References[link]

This article may contain wording that merely promotes the subject without imparting verifiable information. Please remove or replace such wording, unless you can cite independent sources that support the characterization. (October 2011)

Ari Hoenig
Ari Hoenig at Moers Festival, June 2006, Germany
Background information
Born	(1973-11-13) November 13, 1973 (age 38)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Drummer, Composer
Instruments	Drums
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Dreyfus
Associated acts	One O'Clock Lab Band

Ari Hoenig (born on November 13, 1973 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), is a jazz drummer, composer and educator known for his unusual and intense approach to drumming emphasizing complex rhythms. He currently leads a group that makes regular appearances in New York jazz clubs including the 55 Bar and the Blue Note, in addition to performing worldwide. Joining him in the group is the noted French pianist Jean-Michel Pilc.

Rather than playing the traditional role of timekeeper, Ari is known to elevate his drumming to a very central and visible part of the performance, as many drummers such as Elvin Jones, Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette did before him.

History[link]

Hoenig was born to a vocalist father and violinist mother, exposed to classical and other music at an early age. He played both piano and violin, then rock and metal drums as a teen before settling into jazz. He attended Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts in summer 1990. He attended the University of North Texas College of Music for three years and was a member of the highly-regarded One O'Clock Lab Band before relocating to New York. After the move to New York he began playing with fellow Philadelphia native Shirley Scott.

In 2005 Hoenig appeared with his group at the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival alongside such jazz luminaries as Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Chucho Valdés.

Collaborations[link]

Other artists Hoenig has recorded with include Mike Stern, Kenny Werner, Richard Bona, Dave Liebman, Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, Tigran Hamasyan, Ethan Iverson, Mark Turner, Fred Hersch, and the Jazz Mandolin Project. According to his website, Ari has also played on stage with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joshua Redman, Pat Martino, Wynton Marsalis, Pat Metheney, and Mike Stern.

Reviews[link]

Hoenig's playing has been cited by diverse publications worldwide including the Los Angeles Times, Jazz Times, and The Jerusalem Post.

• Drummerworld Feature on Ari Hoenig
• All About Jazz Feature on Ari Hoenig
• Philadelphia CityPaper article on Ari Hoenig
• 2006 article from Down Beat
• 2005 article from the Los Angeles Times
• 2005 review from The Village Voice

Discography as leader[link]

• Jazzheads (1999)
• Time Travels (2000)
• The Life of a Day (2002)
• The Painter (2004)
• Kinectic Hues (2005) (DVD Video)
• Inversations (2007)
• Bert's Playground (2008)
• Punkbop (2010)
• Lines of Oppression (2011)

Multimedia[link]

• Giant Steps from the Kinetic Hues DVD (2005)
• Invitation from the Kinetic Hues DVD (2005)
• Drum solo from The 55 Bar, NYC (2006)
• Additional MP3 and video samples from arihoenig.com

External links[link]

• Official Ari Hoenig site
• AMG Bio of Ari Hoenig
• AMG review of The Painter
• Article announcing Hoenig's 2006 signing with Dreyfus Records