Post Description

Aaron Parks (born October 7, 1983, in Seattle, Washington) is a jazz pianist.

Pianist Aaron Parks is a forward-thinking jazz musician who came to the public's attention, 
during his time with trumpeter Terence Blanchard. Born in Seattle, WA, Parks began playing piano at a young age 
and by the time he was 14 had enrolled in an early entrance degree program at the University of Washington. 
Originally, Parks pursued both science and music degrees; however, his prodigious talent won out and by age 16 
he had transferred to the Manhattan School of Music. While there, he studied with noted pianist Kenny Barron 
and received several competitive accolades, including being named the 2001 Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association. 
At age 18 he joined Blanchard's ensemble and subsequently recorded three albums with the veteran trumpeter. 
Besides playing with Blanchard, Parks has performed with a variety of artists including trumpeter Christian Scott, 
drummer Kendrick Scott, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, and others. Parks has released several albums under his own name, 
including his 2008 Blue Note debut, Invisible Cinema. (Matt Collar on bluenote.com)

Find the Way, his trio debut for the label EMC, is a collection of eight originals and one cover (the title track), 
that all rely heavily on assonant harmonic exchanges and intimate but dynamic interplay with drummer Billy Hart and bassist Ben Street; 
they open these compositions up with an uncommon breathability. The rhythm section is well acquainted, having worked together 
on three albums by the drummer. This set was cut over three days in 2015 in a studio in the south of France. Since his mid-twenties, 
Parks has revealed a canny sense of melodic, spatial, and tonal inventions, but the most remarkable aspect of this date is how Hart 
is the hub in the wheel of each tune. Amid wide chordal statements and elliptical lyric sentiments that open the field in first track "Adrift", 
Hart's double-times snare, hi-hat, and cymbal work add considerable drama and weight as Street holds the middle ground between the poles. 
"Hold Music" spends its first minute as a drum solo, with circular patterns on tom-toms before Street's pulsing line and Parks' dark chords enter the frame. 
Hart dances around his kit, allowing cymbal flourishes to underscore the modal melody. Street's moment comes during "The Storyteller" 
as he equates the pianist's romantic post-bop lyricism with Hart's syncopations by playing on both. His woody tone and melodic richness offer an expanded sense of dimensionality. 
The tune "Alice" was composed after the influence of Alice Coltrane's "Ptah, the El Daoud". The modal sequence is based on crossing rhythmic principles, which in turn create new lyric possibilities. 
They flirt with the outside but never quite arrive there, instead maintaining a mysterious but defined sense of spiritual swing. The closing title track is a cover by Ian Brennan that resonated with the pianist 
after hearing it on an LP by Rosemary Clooney and Nelson Riddle. The melody's bittersweet tenderness is made all the more poignant by Hart's brushwork highlighting Parks' and Street's spectral yet pervasive romanticism. 
On Find the Way, this piano trio offers subtle and innovative shifts between the interconnected relationships of its members, but delivers what is ultimately a songlike collection. (Thom Jurek on allmusic.om)


Release Date: April 21, 2017 
Label: ECM

Personnel:
Aaron Parks, piano
Ben Street, double bass
Billy Hart, drums


foobar2000 1.3.9 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2017-06-07 16:23:31

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Aaron Parks / Find The Way
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR13      -0.17 dB   -16.59 dB      5:47 01-Adrift
DR13      -0.62 dB   -18.04 dB      6:22 02-Song For Sashou
DR14      -2.53 dB   -20.12 dB      4:44 03-Unravel
DR16      -0.25 dB   -19.26 dB      4:20 04-Hold Music
DR15      -0.24 dB   -19.25 dB      4:53 05-The Storyteller
DR13      -0.20 dB   -15.85 dB      7:09 06-Alice
DR14      -1.32 dB   -19.22 dB      5:41 07-First Glance
DR14      -0.24 dB   -17.83 dB      5:28 08-Melquíades
DR15      -1.69 dB   -21.70 dB      5:59 09-Find The Way
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks:  9
Official DR value: DR14

Samplerate:        88200 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   24
Bitrate:           2501 kbps
Codec:             FLAC
================================================================================