As a drummer, Ari Hoenig s success has been unprecedented. A native of Philadelphia, he began playing drums at age twelve and by age fourteen, he was honing his skills at Philly clubs such as Ortlieb s Jazz Haus. Ari is also a composer, arranger and pianist/keyboardist and In 2005, in affiliation with the National Endowment for the Arts, he was awarded a Meet the Composer grant to perform his compositions with his own group. Currently Ari leads the group Punk Bop, featuring Will Vinson on alto, Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar, Tigran Hamasyan on piano and Danton Boller on bass. His regular Monday night gig at Smalls is a generally sold out affair of young, enthusiastic fans.