Aaron Parks Group Ft. Joel Ross at South Jazz Club

Ross hails from Chicago, Illinois and is an alumnus of the prestigious Brubeck Institute. He currently studies at the New School, but has already been making a name for himself in the greater New York scene. He not only plays with talented peers like James Francies, but was recently featured with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra playing the music of George Gershwin.
Parks is a former prodigy now in full artistic bloom. By age 15, he was already attending the University of Washington with a triple-major in math, computer science and music; three years later, he was the champion Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association. Parks appeared on three Blue Note albums by trumpeter-composer Terence Blanchard before making his own album for the label as a leader with the quartet set Invisible Cinema – which BBC Online declared “one of the great albums of 2008,” describing the pianist as “a master of melody, and a composer and arranger of protean skill and dexterity.” Parks has also recorded in the ongoing collective James Farm with saxophonist Joshua Redman, as well as contributed to albums by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, trumpeter Christian Scott, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, drummer Kendrick Scott, trumpeter Philip Dizack and guitarist Mike Moreno, among other leading musicians. The Guardian has lauded Parks’ “independent vision,” calling him a “fast-rising star.” The New York Times has praised the pianist for being “a step ahead of everyone else.”...

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Ross hails from Chicago, Illinois and is an alumnus of the prestigious Brubeck Institute. He currently studies at the New School, but has already been making a name for himself in the greater New York scene. He not only plays with talented peers like James Francies, but was recently featured with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra playing the music of George Gershwin.
Parks is a former prodigy now in full artistic bloom. By age 15, he was already attending the University of Washington with a triple-major in math, computer science and music; three years later, he was the champion Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association. Parks appeared on three Blue Note albums by trumpeter-composer Terence Blanchard before making his own album for the label as a leader with the quartet set Invisible Cinema – which BBC Online declared “one of the great albums of 2008,” describing the pianist as “a master of melody, and a composer and arranger of protean skill and dexterity.” Parks has also recorded in the ongoing collective James Farm with saxophonist Joshua Redman, as well as contributed to albums by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, trumpeter Christian Scott, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, drummer Kendrick Scott, trumpeter Philip Dizack and guitarist Mike Moreno, among other leading musicians. The Guardian has lauded Parks’ “independent vision,” calling him a “fast-rising star.” The New York Times has praised the pianist for being “a step ahead of everyone else.”

Joel Ross swings effortlessly on the vibraphone, sometimes opting for a brittle sound reminiscent of Lionel Hampton, other times creating smooth and expressive lines in the vein of Milt Jackson. Yet while Ross’s sound is grounded in tradition, his rhythmic approach is very contemporary—intensely syncopated and excitingly abstract.

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