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Ari Hoenig Trio, Road Trip, Old Street, London, 8/12/09
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Friday, 05 February 2010 15:18
Apparently undeterred by the slightly disappointing audience turn out in Old Street’s Road Trip Bar this evening, New York drummer Ari Hoenig approached two sets of standards and originals from an extreme rhythmic perspective, aided by Gilad Hekselman on guitar and Euan Burton on bass. The former, in particular, seems to have found a unique voice on his instrument (no mean feat for a young guitarist in these post-Rosenwinkel times) and favoured a more conversational approach than the relatively conservative Burton.

However, there was no doubt that this was very much Hoenig’s trio. As well as hurling metric modulations at his band members (and ambitious pulse-counters in the audience) like a fast bowler, he also frequently placed himself on the soloistic frontline. And while his long displays of technical prowess were inspiring up to a point, it was not long before a whiff of self indulgence began to permeate the air, when it seemed that some warmth and depth of feeling were what the music really called for.

On the other hand, the trio’s use of a wide range of musical reference points ensured that proceedings were rarely dull. From Hoenig’s disco semiquavers on the hi-hat to Hekselman’s shamelessly bluesy strumming and the offbeat reggae groove that the drummer and guitarist locked into on Burton’s solo on Monk’s ‘In Walked Bud’, the band rarely stayed in one place for more than a few bars.

After playing with the likes of Kenny Werner, Dave Liebman and Chris Potter, Ari Hoenig is at the forefront of American jazz drumming. And though his performance this evening may not have been the most heartfelt or emotionally layered, Road Trip’s diminished audience enjoyed it in the spirit in which it was intended; as a joyous celebration of personal virtuosity and high level ensemble playing in contemporary jazz.

Review - Sam Braysher
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