Jazz Police - Hoenig, Hekselman and Linz Form Trio Madness at the Artists Quarter, May 29-30

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Hoenig, Hekselman and Linz Form Trio Madness at the Artists Quarter, May 29-30

Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor

Thursday, 28 May 2009

Ari Hoenig©Andrea Canter

Ari Hoenig has been described by Jazz Times as “one of the most maniacally obsessive, spasmodic and musical drummers in jazz.” Twice in the past few years, this description has been proven on the stage of the Artists Quarter in St. Paul, twice in the company of frequent cohort, pianist Jean-Michel Pilc. This weekend, however, Hoenig returns in a different configuration featuring Israeli guitarist Gilad Hekselman and local bass innovator Adam Linz.

A native of Philadelphia, Ari Hoenig was exposed to a wide range of musical influences in his youth, the son of a classical singer/conductor (father) and violinist/pianist (mother). Young Ari began violin and piano studies at six, and took up the drums at 12, and by 14 was already gigging at such local venues as Ortlieb’s Jazz Haus. After high school, Hoenig attended the University of North Texas, studying with Ed Soph before transferring to William Paterson College in New Jersey. Back in the New York City area, he played with Shirley Scott and Gerry Mulligan in the late 1990s. He has now been a long-standing member of the Kenny Werner and Jean Michel Pilc Trios, as well as serving in the drum chair for such artists as Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Wynton Marsalis, Pat Martino, Joshua Redman, Wayne Krantz, Richard Bona, Chris Potter, Kurt Rosenwinkel, The Jazz Mandolin Project, Mike Stern and Francois Moutin.

Gilad Hekselman

An accomplished composer, Ari was awarded an NEA Meet the Composer grant to peform his own works with his Quartet. Hoenig appears on over 60 recordings as sideman. His quartet debut release in 2004, The Painter, received rave reviews, as did his solo drum recordings, Time Travels (2000) and The Life of a Day (2002). His 2006 release, Inversations (Dreyfus), like his last appearance at the AQ, featured Pilc and Weidenmueller. In 2008, with his “Punk Bop” quartet augmented by Chris Potter, Ari released the acclaimed Bert’s Playground. In addition to regular performance with both his quartet and the Hoenig-Pilc Project at Small’s, Ari teaches at the New School and Manhattan School of Music, writes a regular column for Modern Drummer magazine, and presents clinics worldwide.

Now based in New York after emigrating from his native Israel 4 years ago to study at The New School, guitarist Gilad Hekselman has quickly gained a reputation as one of the most talented on the scene today. His resume includes performances with Chris Potter, John Scofield, Anat Cohen, Jeff Watts, Francois Moutin, and Gretchen Parlato as well as with the Ari Hoenig Quartet. Winner of the 2005 Gibson Montreaux International Guitar Competition at age 22, he has since opened at Montreaux for Paco de Lucia and performed at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. Hekselman has released two recordings as leader, and as been described as “possessing a distinctive lyricism and easily embraceable artfulness that seems to reach beyond his years...” (Laurel Gross, All About Jazz).

Adam Linz©Andrea Canter

Adam Linz is well known to Twin Cities jazz audiences, perhaps most notably as the bassist for the acclaimed Fat Kid Wednesdays trio. Very active in the local avant garde scene, from 1995 to 1999 he led East Coasting, a New York City-based ensemble dedicated to the performance of Charles Mingus' music; he has also performed with the Mingus Big Band. Other credits include Oliver Lake, Gloryland Ponycat with saxophonist George Cartwright, and locally with many artists including JT Bates, Kelly Rossum, Bryan Nichols and Phil Hey. Linz has a Bachelor of Music degree from the William Paterson University Jazz Studies Program and is a former student of Peter Olson at MacPhail. He has taught at Music Tech, Mars Music and at the Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth, and is currently on the MacPhail faculty.

This may be one of the most innovative small ensembles to appear in the Twin Cities in 2009!

Hoenig, Hekselman and Linz perform May 29-30 at 9 pm. The Artists Quarter is located at 408 St. Peter Street in downtown St. Paul; www.artistsquarter.com. More on Ari Hoenig at www.arihoenig.com; Gilad Hekselman’s website is www.giladhekselman.com.

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