Aaron Parks

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Pianist/composer Aaron Parks was raised in Seattle, WA. He began playing piano at age 10, learning mostly by ear, and was immediately attracted to improvised music. He first came on the radar screen when at 14 years old, he skipped high school and started the University of Washington as part of the Early Entrance Program. At first, he intended to triple-major in math, computer science, and music, but soon realized that he wanted to follow his passion for music fully. So at age 16, with the encouragement of jazz pianist Joanne Brackeen, Aaron transferred to the Manhattan School of Music in New York, leaving behind his promising academic future for a dicey shot at the jazz life. He began to study with piano great Kenny Barron, who recalled: “I was knocked out by Mr. Parks’ command of the piano but more importantly, by his maturity, his wealth of ideas, his touch, and by the fact that at such a young age, he seemed to understand that silence and space were integral components of the music.” A little over a year after moving to New York, Aaron won first place in the 5th American Jazz Piano Competition and was named the 2001 Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association. Shortly thereafter, he was asked to perform on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz.” And just after his 18th birthday, he was called upon by the brilliant trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard and invited to join his group, a collective that Herbie Hancock calls “one of the most exciting working bands in jazz today.

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jazz, piano, modern jazz, contemporary jazz, instrumental
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Top Tracks

1	Peaceful Warrior full track	104
2	Nemesis full track	102
3	Travelers full track	86
4	Roadside Distraction full track	80
5	Riddle Me This full track	75
6	Into The Labyrinth full track	63
6	Karma full track	63
8	Harvesting Dance full track	57
9	Afterglow full track	53
10	Praise full track	51
11	On My Way Back Home	2
11	Leaving	2
13	Go!	1
13	Machine	1
13	Someday My Prince Will Come	1

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keytarjunkie wrote:
December 2009

I really like his music, he's a great artist. I was disappointed when he told a group of young jazz musicians (including me) that transcribing music was bad, I respect his opinion but transcribing is a part of the history of jazz music, sorry.

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FMDostoevsky wrote:
September 2009

I'm not in "jazz" story, but this album... Maybe it's because jazz is great spice in this mix of influences... or because I'm cinemaniak, I don't know? :) Man just plays perfect.

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Olek82 wrote:
June 2009

very good in "A Ttale of God's Will"

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nuno-c-abrantes wrote:
April 2009

great :)

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Solid-Steel wrote:
February 2009

+10000!! This album just blew my mind! It's my re-discovery of jazz music, actually! "Travelers" is fu@#$ng brilliant track!

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christianS_79 wrote:
February 2009

Yeh great album, and Nemesis is a killer track

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Hosse7 wrote:
February 2009

Да! Сердце говорит.

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lloyddoppler wrote:
February 2009

This is my favorite jazz discovery of the past 12 months. C'est fantastique!

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koshermosher wrote:
December 2008

I wish I could wrap up Aaron Parks in a box and listen to him live whenever I wanted. His songs are so...mathematical...and mind-blowing.

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idiotik wrote:
November 2008

tudirudi rundaido ... efu kle

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