Ari Hoenig Trio with Brad Miller and Nick Hetko

Jazz Series / Live at Timucua: Ari Hoenig is one of the busiest jazz drummers in the country. His melodic sense and touch are unmatched.

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 attending the prestigious University of North Texas for three years, Ari transferred to William Patterson College in northern New Jersey. He soon found himself playing for legendary Philadelphia organist Shirley Scott and working regularly in New York City.

Shortly thereafter, Ari moved into Brooklyn and 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.

Both of Ari’s self-produced solo drum CDs, “Time Travels” (2000) and “The Life Of A Day” (2002), document his exploratory nature and they represent an ambitious tribute to the melodic possibilities of the drum set. Today, Ari continues to build on the concepts of these two records by playing largely improvised solo concerts using a simple four-piece drum kit without help from extraneous percussion instruments.

The Ari Hoenig Quartet was formed at the end of 2002 while playing every Monday night at the New York Village jazz club Fat Cat. The band featured Jacques Schwarz-Bart on tenor sax, Jean Michel Pilc on piano, and Matt Penman on bass. They released two records on the Smalls Records label: “The Painter” (2004) and the DVD “Kinetic Hues” (2005)

In 2006 Ari signed a multi-record deal with Dreyfus Records and released his first record for them called “Inversations” (2006) which features the trio of Jean Michel Pilc and Johannes Weidenmueller. “Bert’s Playground” (2008), Ari’s second record for Dreyfus, features Ari’s Punk Bop Band joined by Chris Potter. Highlights of this record include Chris’s solo on Moments Notice and Ari jumping around in red pants on the cover. Jonathan Kreisberg, Matt Penman, Will Vinson, Gilad Hekselman and Orlando le Fleming also represent on this one.

His next record project was for “Smalls Live”, a record label set up in 2009 to document some of the music being performed at the “Smalls Jazz Club” in New York where Ari has appeared regularly since 2003. Ari chose his Punk Bop Band to make the live record “Punk Bop Live at Smalls (2010)”. The Punk Bop Band features Will Vinson on alto, Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar and fellow Jazz Mandolin Project alumni, Danton Boller on bass. Tigran Hamasyan is a special guest on 4 tracks as well.

Ari’s Quartet with Tigran Hamasyan, Gilad Hekselman, Orlando le Fleming and Chris Tordini released “Lines of Oppression” (2011) on the Naïve label.

In 2013 Ari and his quartet won the prestigious BMW Welt (World) award in Munich, an international competition for best band led by a drummer.

In 2016, Ari Released The Pauper and the Magician on AH-HA Records. It features the quintet of Shai Maestro on piano, Gilad Hekselman on guitar, Tivon Pennicott on Sax and Orlando Le Fleming on bass. On this record, Ari explores the link between story telling and jazz by creating a soundtrack to the improvised and sometimes twisted stories he tells his two small children.

In 2018, Ari released a standards record called NY Standard (a tribute to playing standards in New York). In 2019, Conners Days (his first full trio record) was released. It features Nitai Hershkovits on piano and Or Bareket on bass. Both of these are on the Fresh Sound label and have received widespread acclaim.

2022 brings two new exciting releases:

1) “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.

2) The 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.

Ari also co-leads a variety of projects. Pilc, Moutin, Hoenig (The Three headed monster) released Threedom in 2011 on the Motema label. He has had various projects with partner Gael Horellou including the jazz electronica project “Nasty Factorz” with a self titled record released in 2016 and “Live” with the quartet featuring Horellou, released in 2019. Ari has also co-led various duo’s with Chris Potter, Edmar Casteneda, JD Walter and Dan Weiss. His recordings as a side-artist total around 120 to date.

About Brad Miller

Brad Miller is an Acoustic/Electric bassist, composer and producer (Brooklyn/NYC Based) making huge strides in today’s music scene. Brad was born March 11,1994 in Manhattan NY. He has been featured on Scott’s Bass Lesson’s, Downbeat Magazine and other major outlets. His projects have performed in different continents around the world and has held residencies at esteemed clubs such as Blue Note, 55 Bar, Black Cat SF, Nublu and more.

Currently, Brad has been performing/recording actively around NYC and abroad with

Blaque Dynamite, Oteil Burbridge & Friends, BIGYUKI, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Thomas Pridgen, Oz Noy, Adam Rogers, JD Beck & Domi, Goose, The Free Nationals, Doobie Powell, Ari Hoenig Trio, Charles Altura, James Francies, Patrick Bartley Jr., Chris Fishman, Adam Dietch, David Binney, Sean Rickman, Jonathan Blake, Obed Calvaire, Fabian Almazan, Shariq Tucker, Dan Weiss, Jason Lindner, Ben Eunson, J-Music Ensemble, Ignacio Berroa, Frank Moka, Roosevelt Collier, Nicholas Payton, Maurice Brown, Rashid Williams, Jonathan Mones, Eric “Benny” Bloom, Judith Hill, Kanika Moore, Tim Miller, Cafe Wha House Band and more.

Brad’s projects have regularly performed at the legendary 55 bar in West Village NY, Black Cat San Francisco, Blue Note NYC, Infinity Music Hall, Rockwood Music Hall, Carnagie Hall, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center, Okeechobee Festival, Suwannee Hulaween, Jam Cruise, Drake, Bar Next Door, The Bitter-End, Club Bonafide, Smalls Jazz Club, SOB’s, Shapeshifter Lab, Smoke Jazz, Cafe Wha, Ginny’s Supper Club, The Groove, Club Bonafide, Nublu, Brooklyn Bowl, Beardfest, The Drake, Now & Then, The New Standard, Otakon, The Bowery Electric, Heartwood Soundstage, Sunfest, Beardfest, Dazzle Denver, Knew Conscious and more.

Brad is currently endorsed by Moollon Instruments, La Bella Strings, Serek Basses, Epifani Amps, LK Straps, Pig Hog Cables and Reunion Blues.

About Nick Hetko

Nicolas Hetko is an award winning pianist and composer.  He has shared the stage with the likes of James Moody, Matt Wilson, Chris Potter, Buddy Guy, and Dave Holland at countless clubs and concert halls around the world.  He was the grand prize winner of the 2016 Six String Theory Competition, went on tour with Lee Ritenour, and recorded a track for Lee’s upcoming album.  He holds two ASCAP Jazz Composer awards and three awards from Downbeat Magazine for his compositions and performances.

Before the age of 18, Hetko was selected for the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency, Brubeck Jazz Colony, and the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensemble.  He was a Grand Finalist in the Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition and the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, and was a recipient of the prestigious Stamps Scholarship at the University of Miami.

Nick Hetko now resides in New York City where has become an in demand pianist in the local music scene, performing at venues such as Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium The 55 Bar, Smalls Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, and the Cutting Room.

Discounted tickets are available for members, students, teachers, frontline workers, veterans, and seniors.

In-person and livestream tickets available.

Please bring a bottle of wine or non-alcoholic beverage to share.

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The lead sponsor for Timucua’s Jazz Series is:
Revive Skincare Clinic
For more information, please visit reviveskincareclinic.com