Aaron Parks, a pianist and jazz musician, is forward-thinking. He first came to the attention of the public during his time playing with Terence Blanchard. Parks was born in Seattle, WA. He began playing piano when he was a child and enrolled at the University of Washington’s early admission program. Parks originally wanted to study science and music, but his talent won out, and he transferred to Manhattan School of Music at the age of 16. He studied with Kenny Barron, a noted pianist, and was awarded a number of competitive accolades. He joined Blanchard’s band at age 18, and recorded three albums with him, including 2003’s Bounce and 2005’s Flow. These were the soundtracks to the Spike Lee movie Inside Man (2006) and Blanchard’s 2007 Grammy-winning opus A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem For Katrina) (2007). Parks, along with Blanchard, has also performed with Kendrick Scott, Christian Scott, Gretchen Parlato and other artists. Parks has released many albums under his own name including Invisible Cinema, his debut album for Blue Note in 2008. Allmusic
