BOOK/DVD
LEVEL: ADVANCED
$19.99

If you’re familiar with the adventurous music that NYC drummer Ari Hoenig makes with his band as well as with the modernistic pianists Kenny Werner and Jean-Michel Pilc, then you know that Hoenig’s a wizard when it comes to bending barlines and implying alternate time signatures without ever losing track of the form. While it may sound as if Ari is stepping out of time at random points in a tune, there’s actually a very specific method to his madness. In this second book/DVD package, the drummer and his bass-playing partner Johannes Weidenmueller outline their approach in very clear, progressive steps. The first book, Intro to Polyrhythms, dealt with the basics of implied time, which involves internalizing “core rhythms” based on various triplet groupings, quarter-note triplets, and dotted-quarter notes. Vol. 2 digs into advanced approaches to metric modulation, including implied time in odd-time signatures, five- and seven-note groupings in 8th notes and triplets, and five-over-four polyrhythms. The DVD is really the focus here, as the book content serves more as a supplement then a page-by-page guide. But there’s a lot of heavy material to be digested, internalized, and explored in this brief—but not skimpy—collection. (Mel Bay)

Michael Dawson