Aaron Parks Quartet

Aaron Parks was precocious as a youngster. At age fifteen, he was already working on a triple major in math, computer science and music at the University of Washington. He says he never really thought about a career in music until the music began playing him. By the time he turned eighteen, he was playing with Terence Blanchard’s band. Now, after five years with Blanchard and a stint with guitar phenom Kurt Rosenwinkel, the 24-year-old pianist is running his own show. On this tour, he’ll bring along Mike Moreno, an equally brilliant guitarist who did some stellar work on Invisible Cinema, Parks’s Blue Note debut. On “Travelers” and “Nemesis,” two of the album’s stronger cuts, Parks recalls Brad Mehldau, while the interplay between him and Moreno on tracks like “Peaceful Warrior” echoes collaborations between Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays.