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 Piano Awards 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 recordedYear releasedTitleLabelNotes19991999The PromiseKeynoteTrio, with Evan Flory-Barnes (bass), Eric Peters (drums)20002000First RomanceKeynoteTrio, with Larry Holloway and Evan Flory-Barnes (bass; separately), Julian MacDonough and Eric Peters (drums; separately)20012001The WizardKeynoteQuintet, with Jay Thomas (trumpet, flugelhorn, tenor sax, soprano sax), Tim Green (alto sax), Jeff Johnson and Josh Ginsburg (bass; separately), Obed Calvaire (drums)20022002ShadowsKeynoteSome tracks trio, with Matt Brewer (bass), Obed Calvaire (drums); some tracks quartet, with Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet) added20082008Invisible CinemaBlue NoteQuartet, with Mike Moreno (guitar), Matt Penman (bass), Eric Harland (drums)20112013ArborescenceECMSolo piano20122013Alive in Japan(Independent)Trio, with Thomas Morgan (bass), RJ Miller (drums); in concert; digital download20142016GroovementsStuntTrio, with Thomas Fonnesbaek (bass), Karsten Bagge (drums)20152017Find the WayECMTrio, with Ben Street (bass), Billy Hart (drums)20182018Little BigRopeadopeMost tracks quartet, with Greg Tuohey (guitar), David Ginyard (bass), Tommy Crane (drums); some tracks with Eliot Krimsky (keyboards) added20192020Little Big II: Dreams of a Mechanical ManRopeadopeQuartet, with Greg Tuohey (guitar), David Ginyard, Jr (bass), Tommy Crane (drums, percussion)20212022Volume One(Independent)Trio, with Matt Brewer (bass), Eric Harland (drums); digital download20212022Volume Two(Independent)Trio, with Matt Brewer (bass), Eric Harland (drums); digital download20232023Live in Berlin(Independent)Quartet, with Greg Tuohey (guitar), David Ginyard, Jr (bass), Jongkuk Kim (drums); digital download20242024Little Big IIIBlue NoteQuartet, with Greg Tuohey (guitar), David Ginyard (bass), Jongkuk Kim (drums)20252025By All MeansBlue NoteQuartet, with Ben Solomon (tenor saxophone); Ben Street (bass); Billy Hart (drums)
Main sources:
As member James Farm With Joshua Redman, Matt Penman and Eric Harland James Farm (Nonesuch, 2011) City Folk (Nonesuch, 2014)
As sideman
With Terence Blanchard Bounce (Blue Note, 2003) Flow (Blue Note, 2005) – recorded in 2004 A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (Blue Note, 2007)
With Mike Moreno Between the Lines (World Culture Music, 2007) – recorded in 2006 First in Mind (Criss Cross, 2011) Another Way (World Culture Music, 2012) Lotus (World Culture Music, 2015)
With Christian Scott Anthem (Concord Jazz, 2007) Live at Newport (Concord Jazz, 2008) – live
With Dayna Stephens Today Is Tomorrow (Criss Cross, 2012) Reminiscent (Criss Cross, 2015) Right Now! (Contagious Music, 2020)
With others Walter Smith III, Casually Introducing (Fresh Sound, 2006) Ferenc Nemeth, Night Songs (Dreamers Collective 2007) – recorded in 2005 Ambrose Akinmusire, Prelude (Fresh Sound, 2008) Gretchen Parlato, In a Dream (ObliqSound, 2009) – recorded in 2008 Francesco Cafiso, Angelica (CAM Jazz, 2009) Anders Christensen Trio, Dear Someone (Stunt, 2009) Monika Borzym, Girl Talk (Sony, 2011) Cant, Dreams Come True (Terrible, 2011) Kurt Rosenwinkel, Star of Jupiter (Wommusic 2012)[2CD] Yeahwon Shin, Lua Ya (ECM, 2013) – recorded in 2012 Derrick Hodge, Live Today (Blue Note, 2013) Lage Lund, Foolhardy (Criss Cross, 2013) Chris Morrissey, North Hero (Sunnyside, 2013) Nir Felder, Golden Age (Okeh, 2014) Dhafer Youssef, Diwan of Beauty and Odd (Okeh, 2016) Gilad Hekselman, Ask for Chaos (Motema, 2018) Ben Wendel, The Seasons (Motema, 2018) Terri Lyne Carrington, Waiting Game (Motema, 2019) Evgeny Pobozhiy, Elements For Peace (Butman Music, 2022) Joshua Redman, Where Are We (Blue Note, 2023) Nils Wülker, Zuversicht (Warner Music, 2026)
References
External links Official site Aaron Parks at NPR Music