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| Aaron Parks Makes His Major Label Debut On August 19, pianist Aaron Parks will make his Blue Note Records debut with Invisible Cinema, a stunning concept record conceived entirely by Parks. Invisible Cinema finds Parks in excellent form as both a soloist and composer, buoyed by the support of guitarist Mike Moreno, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland. Together and apart, all four players have assumed roles at the forefront of jazz in the new millennium. Parks came to the attention of Blue Note Records during his five-year tenure with Terence Blanchard, during which he appeared on three of the trumpeter's acclaimed Blue Note albums: Bounce, Flow and A Tale of God's Will. Parks is now delighted to follow the example of another Blanchard alum, Lionel Loueke, who debuted on Blue Note with the evocative album Karibu in March 2008. "I'm thrilled to be a part not only of the classic Blue Note legacy, but also the new legacy, which includes Terence, Lionel, Robert Glasper, Jason Moran, Cassandra Wilson and so many great artists, " Parks enthuses. For Parks to make such a strong showing at the tender age of 24 isn't surprising. At age 14 he enrolled in an early entrance college program; by 15 he was attending University of Washington with a triple-major in math, computer science and music. Like many of his peers, has nourished an eclectic taste. "I listen to tons of rock, " he says, "and I'm influenced by the artists lots of jazz players listen to, like Radiohead and Bjork, but also Talk Talk, Blonde Redhead, Me'shell Ndegeocello and straight-up indie-pop like Death Cab for Cutie." "The title [Invisible Cinema] has different meanings, " notes the 24- year-old Seattle native, who is currently based in Brooklyn. "For one thing, Invisible Cinema is what music is, in a sense. You can't see it. But there's all this drama between the musicians, all these stories that can be told. Also, I was thinking about actual cinema, and this album has a story line that I wouldn't spell out to anybody, because I want to leave it open to interpretation. But for me there's a narration in the sequence and song titles and everything." With his technically involved yet boundlessly melodic and sensitive playing, and with the sense of color and imagination he conveys in every musical situation, Parks is setting a new standard for jazz piano expression. Invisible Cinema, his most significant milestone to date, sends him off and running on a solo career that is sure to awe listeners for years to come. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |