Yuri Honing (Hilversum, 6 July1965) is one of the most remarkable saxophonists of his generation. He  is  allergic  to  compartmentalizing  music.  He  therefore  plays  with  musicians  from  his  own generation (in groups like his own Trio and Acoustic Quartet), as well as with older Dutch (Misha Mengelberg and Ernst Reijseger) and foreign musicians (Paul Bley, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian, Pat Metheny). Honing enters into collaborations with musicians from the Arab music world, from pop music, classical music and modern dance music.

1990
Yuri Honing starts his own Trio, with bassist Tony Overwater and drummer Joost Lijbaart. The absence of a chordal instrument in the band gives the threesome great harmonic freedom. This keeps the music fresh and helps preserve the band over a period of more twenty years. As part of the project Art In  Jazz, which offers young and promising musicians the  opportunity to make their recording debut, the Trio records the CD A Matter Of Conviction. The album is released in 1992 in the

5 CD box Art In Jazz. In this box the saxophonist is also featured in pianist Michiel Borstlap's sextet, in  which  he  forms  the  front  line  with  alto  saxophonist  Benjamin  Herman  and  trumpeter  Eric Vloeimans.

1996
With Star Tracks the Yuri Honing Trio releases a remarkable CD, since the group partly takes its repertoire from contemporary pop music. Thus the album contains songs by Abba and The Police. Honing doesn't have a problem using the pop music of his own time as a basis for improvisation; he gladly points out that jazz musicians of previous generations were doing exactly the same. In 1999 the band records the album Sequel in the same vein, using material by Björk, Blondie and others.

1997
From his youth Honing has kept a preference for the jazzrock of the early seventies. He shares this love with pianist Michiel Borstlap. In order to transpose this music into the nineties they form the band Whitehouse. The eponymous CD is released by the VIA Jazz label.

1998
The CD Playing finds Honing performing alongside veteran pianist Misha Mengelberg in twelve freely improvised tracks. Two years later the project gets a sequel at the North Sea Jazz Festival, with cellist Ernst Reijseger as third improviser. The recordings find their way onto the CD Lively.

2000
When the American pianist Paul Bley hears the Dutch saxophonist play, he invites him for an improvised studio session. Bley also extends the invitation to two partners with whom he formed a trio for a great many years: bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Paul Motian. The result can be heard on the album Seven, which the authoritative Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awards an extremely high rating of four stars. The record also earns the foursome an Edison (Dutch Grammy).

2002
Honing records the CD Memory Lane with members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. It is his first project with musicians from the world of classical music.

2003
When drummer Joost Lijbaart starts his own band, he asks Honing and Benjamin Herman to form the melody  section.  With  Norwegian Mats  Eilertsen  on  bass  the  Group  of  Friends  makes  a  deep impression at the North Sea Jazz Festival, where a DVD of the quartet is shot, which is released in 2005.

2005
In addition to his activities in acoustic music Honing starts a new electric band, Wired Paradise. It features Tony Overwater (on bass guitar) and Joost Lijbaart plus the German guitarist Frank Möbus, best known for his work with the trio Das Rote Bereich. In 2006 Yuri Honing decides to add a second guitarist to the outfit: rocker Paul Jan Bakker (best known for his work with the band Kane and singer Anouk). In 2008 bass guitarist Mark Haanstra takes Overwater's place, and Stef van Es comes in as Bakker's replacement (although the latter occasionally subs with the band).

2006
The saxophonist enters into a collaboration with the Metropole Orchestra. With conductor Vince Mendoza at the rostrum he records the CD Symphonic with this orchestra.

2007
Just  like  he  considers contemporary pop  music  to  be  the  continuation of  the  Great  American Songbook, Honing sees a parallel between that particular song form and Franz Schubert's lieder. He therefore decides to record a full instrumental version of Schubert's song cycle Winterreise, accompanied by the classical pianist Nora Mulder. He also uses the title for a special concert evening with  guests which  the  saxophonist organizes every year  towards the  end  of  December at  the Amsterdam Paradiso.

2009
For the first time Honing forms an acoustic band with a chordal instrument. In his Acoustic Quartet Wolfert Brederode is the pianist, Ruben Samama the bassist, and Joost Lijbaart once again the drummer. Honing invites dance producer Floris Klinkert (who uses his Christian name as his stage name) for a collaboration, resulting in the CD Phase Five. On this album Floris makes use of samples from the saxophonist's entire discography to produce new compositions. The resulting songs are sung by singers like Leine, Sarah Bettens and Lilian Vieira (of the band Zuco 103); in addition Honing himself is featured as a soloist.

2011
Honing performs Bach's Brandenburger Concertos in a new treatment with recorder player Erik Bosgraaf. The same year he is also working with pianist Craig Taborn.

2012
The new CD by the Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet, True, is announced for 14 February.

From  www.muziekencyclopedie.nl by Music Center the Netherlands.