Ari Hoenig Trio Conner's Days

It was a sign of the times. Concerts and tours were canceled and like everyone I was forced to reassess. I used some of that new found free time to go back and listen to some song sketches that almost made it to the printed page: songs that were not yet tried out by a group, possibly because of some sort of interruption in the composing process.

Returning anew to the original record it's fascinating to re-discover how provocative Pink Floyd's classic remains, and to hear how well this quartet's collective interplay served that music. And how beautifully Sam Yahel's organ-while not the dominant voice, surely a prominent presence-sets the aesthetic tone for these proceedings: nothing rushed or forced or extravagant…elegant and swinging and exploratory, never stepping on anyone's toes-deceptively laid back and responsive, always listening intently, with plenty of rhythmic vitality…a sensibility he shares with collaborators Mike Moreno, Ari Hoenig and Seamus Blake, which goes a long ways towards explaining why their take on Pink Floyd's music is so engaging and stands up so well to repeated listenings.