Listen "Aaron Parks"
Episode Synopsis
I’m happy to share my interview with the great Aaron Parks. I first heard him sometime 2004 on Terence Blanchard’s “Bounce” album. Being very impressed by his playing I began to investigate more and came across lots of recordings that featured his playing. Too many to list here, but I’ll say that especially during that time “Bounce” and “Flow” by Terence Blanchard, Gretchen Parlato’s eponymous record and lots of bootlegs of Kurt Rosenwinkel’s bands with Aaron were particularly inspiring for me. I’ve closely followed Aaron’s music every since. As I tell him at some point during the interivew, I really think that Aaron introduced a fresh new approach to the piano that wasn’t there before he came on the scene.
We also talk about what he’s working on at the moment, his relationship with Thomas Morgan and Ben Street, the different approaches in his trios with Ben Street & Billy Hart vs. Thomas Morgan & RJ Miller, finding a personal approach on the piano, different piano players who are on the scene today, his process of strengthening his musical foundation, listening habits, and daily practices… lots of things! It’s always great to talk to Aaron. I’m happy he agreed to do this interview and that we can share it with all of you. Enjoy!
More episodes of the podcast Pablo Held Investigates
John O’Gallagher
22/11/2025
Larry Grenadier
13/10/2025
Patrice Rushen
23/09/2025
Kush Abadey
26/08/2025
Nicole Glover
18/07/2025
Chris Weisman 2
21/06/2025
Unity (audio commentary)
02/06/2025
Albert Sanz
21/05/2025
Eric McPherson
18/04/2025
Elders (audio commentary)
30/03/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.