Introduction
Aaron Parks (born October 7, 1983) is an American jazz pianist.
Career
A native of Seattle, Parks studied at the University of Washington at the age of 14 through the Transition School and Early Entrance Program as a double major in computer science and music. At 15, he was selected to participate in the Grammy High School Jazz Ensembles which inspired him to move to New York City and transfer to the Manhattan School of Music. At Manhattan one of his teachers was Kenny Barron. During his final year, he began touring with Terence Blanchard's band, recording three albums with them for Blue Note, including the Grammy-winning A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina). Parks can be heard on the soundtracks: Their Eyes Were Watching God and the Spike Lee and films: Inside Man, She Hate Me, and When the Levees Broke.
Parks released his first four albums on Keynote Records between 1999 and 2002. In 2008, he released Invisible Cinema, his debut for Blue Note. Following this, he released two albums for ECM, and is currently an artist on Ropeadope Records.
He is a member of the band James Farm with saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland. He has toured with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel.
Awards and honors
- 2001: Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association
- 2006: Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition (third place)
- Jas Hennessy Piano Solo Competition at Montreux (third place)
- 2016: DownBeat magazine: “25 for the Future”
Discography
As leader
| Year recorded | Year released | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1999 | The Promise | Keynote | Trio, with Evan Flory-Barnes (bass), Eric Peters (drums) |
| 2000 | 2000 | First Romance | Keynote | Trio, with Larry Holloway and Evan Flory-Barnes (bass; separately), Julian MacDonough and Eric Peters (drums; separately) |
| 2001 | 2001 | The Wizard | Keynote | Quintet, with Jay Thomas (trumpet, flugelhorn, tenor sax, soprano sax), Tim Green (alto sax), Jeff Johnson and Josh Ginsburg (bass; separately), Obed Calvaire (drums) |
| 2002 | 2002 | Shadows | Keynote | Some tracks trio, with Matt Brewer (bass), Obed Calvaire (drums); some tracks quartet, with Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet) added |
| 2008 | Invisible Cinema | Blue Note | Quartet, with Mike Moreno (guitar), Matt Penman (bass), Eric Harland (drums) | |
| 2011 | 2013 | Arborescence | ECM | Solo piano |
| 2012 | 2013 | Alive in Japan | (Independent) | Trio, with Thomas Morgan (bass), RJ Miller (drums); in concert; digital download |
| 2014 | Groovements | Stunt | Trio, with Thomas Fonnesbaek (bass), Karsten Bagge (drums) | |
| 2015 | 2017 | Find the Way | ECM | Trio, with Ben Street (bass), Billy Hart (drums) |
| 2018 | 2018 | Little Big | Ropeadope | Most tracks quartet, with Greg Tuohey (guitar), David Ginyard (bass), Tommy Crane (drums); some tracks with Eliot Krimsky (keyboards) added |
| 2019 | 2020 | Little Big II: Dreams of a Mechanical Man | Ropeadope | Quartet, with Greg Tuohey (guitar), David Ginyard, Jr (bass), Tommy Crane (drums, percussion) |
| 2021 | 2022 | Volume One | (Independent) | Trio, with Matt Brewer (bass), Eric Harland (drums); digital download |
| 2021 | 2022 | Volume Two | (Independent) | Trio, with Matt Brewer (bass), Eric Harland (drums); digital download |
Main sources:
As member
James Farm
With Joshua Redman, Matt Penman and Eric Harland
- James Farm (Nonesuch, 2011)
- City Folk (Nonesuch, 2014)