Aaron Parks - First Romance (2000)

First Romance, 16-year-old jazz pianist Aaron Parks' second CD, is a compilation of mostly live recordings made in and around Seattle, Washington. In addition to performing with his original trio mates, Evan Flory-Barnes and Eric Peters, he also performs here with Larry Holloway on bass and Julian MacDonough on drums. The title track, First Romance, along with his award winning tune, The Wizard, were composed by Aaron Parks. Also included are classic standards, such as All the Things You Are, Stella by Starlight, and Oleo. The trio's stunning rendition of Sam Rivers' Beatrice, comes from a University of Washington performance which has been listed by the Seattle Times as one of the top 10 notable jazz acts of 1999. The Aaron Parks Trio, with Evan Flory-Barnes on Bass, and Eric Peters on Drums, was awarded Northwest Emerging Group of the Year for 1999 by Seattle's Earshot Jazz. Aaron Parks has also received awards as a Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Presiden! tial Scholar in the Arts, Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellow, National High School Grammy Ensemble member, and Betty Carter Jazz Ahead participant. Most recently, he earned Third Place in the international Jas Hennessey Piano Solo Competition held at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Summer 2000. Aaron Parks is currently a student at Manhattan School of Music, studying under piano great, Kenny Barron.