Ari's Funhouse

Philadelphia-born drummer Ari Hoenig has firmly established himself in music with over a dozen recordings as a leader plus many more as an accompanist on many other sessions. He also has become a leading award-winning educator and is currently on the faculty of New York University (NYU). One of the leading pianists along the Front Range is Ben Markley whose albums have been well received on jazz radio around the globe and like Ari is an established educator teaching at the University of Wyoming. They met in 2013 at the Tarleton Jazz Festival in Texas and instantly bonded and after playing several live gigs they decided to record this big band outing, Ari composed all the music and Ben arranged them all. The big band features a formidable line-up of Colorado-based musicians, most of who are leaders of their own groups. As the title suggests this is fun to listen to and will eventually wind up as one of 2022 best big band recordings!