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Aaron Parks: Structured Freedom

by Jason Crane
Pianist and composer Aaron Parks is 24 years old--and he started college 11 years ago. A child prodigy who entered the University of Washington at age 13 as a triple major in math, computer science and music, Parks quickly found that music was his true calling. Now, after a five-year stint with trumpeter Terence Blanchard, Parks is set to release his Blue Note debut, Invisible Cinema. The album, which hits stores on August 19, 2008, is a tour de force ...
Continue ReadingAaron Parks: Invisible Cinema

by J Hunter
When Aaron Parks first appeared with Terence Blanchard, the then-19-year old pianist with wild hair and rumpled clothing made him indistinguishable from many of the young jazz fans who came to see Blanchard's return from the world of Spike Lee film scores. Looks can be deceiving though as Parks would later become a key contributor to Blanchard's phenomenal sextet, Flow. Parks is now the third member of that unit to go out on his own, and Invisible Cinema is, by ...
Continue ReadingAaron Parks' Invisible Cinema

by Nick Catalano
Some ten years ago when I was speaking at the annual Clifford Brown Festival in Wilmington Delaware, I ran across a remarkable family. The Parkses" (a family of four represented at the festival by mother & son) were there, excited by the prospect that young Aaron, age 14 or so, and his young compatriots (winners of a jazz competition) were selected to perform. The youngsters were talented and entertaining but what I remember most about the encounter were conversations with ...
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