Aaron Goldberg is a young pianist and composer working at the vanguard of jazz music. His impeccable working band is made up of bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland. Recently Aaron turned heads with his Sunnyside Records debut album, Worlds, where the sensitivity and dynamism of his longstanding trio takes center stage. In addition to heading his trio, Aaron has spent the last 10 years touring with many of the most brilliant voices in jazz--Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Betty Carter, Nicholas Payton, Al Foster, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Madeleine Peyroux among others.
Aaron was born in Boston and got hooked on jazz in high school by Bob Sinicrope of Milton Academy and saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, two master educators. In his own words: “At first improvisation was a mystery and a puzzle, but soon it became a profound inner and outer journey as life and music entwined.” After receiving awards from Berklee College of Music and DownBeat, Goldberg left at age 17 for NYC. At the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in 1991 he had his first taste of jazz in the big city, and at school he met many of his current contemporaries and friends, including Omer Avital, Brad Mehldau, Roy Hargrove, Ali Jackson and others.
In 1992 he returned to Boston and enrolled at Harvard College. While at Harvard, Goldberg worked with a wide variety of artists from nearby Berklee and beyond, and won the International Association of Jazz Educators’ prestigious Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship award as well as first place in National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search in 1993. Soon he was discovered by vocalist and first lady of jazz Betty Carter and was a founding member of her historic Jazz Ahead program. He continued to perform at clubs around both New York and Boston, often commuting in the wee hours, and it was not long before he met both Rogers and Harland. Goldberg graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1996 with a degree in History and Science and a concentration in Mind, Brain and Behavior. On the weekends he held a long-time residence at Wally's Cafe in Boston, and the fall after graduation he moved to Brooklyn.
Goldberg wasted no time in the Big Apple. He quickly established himself as a stellar sideman, performing with a vast array of leaders including Al Foster, Stefon Harris, Tom Harrell, Freddie Hubbard, Mark Turner, Greg Tardy and others. In 1998 he joined the band of Joshua Redman, with whom he toured for 4 years and recorded two albums (Beyond, 2001 and Passage of Time, 2002). Most recently, in addition to leading his telepathic trio Goldberg toured and recorded for two years with guitar guru Kurt Rosenwinkel. In addition in 2005 he toured South America with Madeleine Peyroux, and spent 6 months performing with Wynton Marsalis in his quartet as well as with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
Goldberg’s long and impressive list of recorded credits includes work with a diverse spectrum of artists ranging from Guillermo Klein to Terry Gibbs/Buddy DeFranco, as well as with his fellow leaders of the next generation, including John Ellis, Jimmy Greene and Eli Degibri. In 2004, Goldberg produced and performed in Jazz for America's Future, a fundraising concert for John Kerry's presidential campaign that also featured Savion Glover, Brad Mehldau, the late Michael Brecker, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Christian McBride and others. He is currently the musical director of All Souls at Sundown, a jazz and poetry series at Manhattan's All Souls Church. His first recording as a leader, Turning Point, was released on the J Curve imprint in 1999, followed by Unfolding in 2002. Aaron is also a member of the OAM Trio, which recorded Trilingual (1999) and Flow (2002) for the Fresh Sound/New Talent label, as well as two collaborations with saxophonist Mark Turner: an upcoming studio project and the acclaimed Live in Sevilla (2003) on Lola Records.
On his new album, Worlds, Goldberg has adopted the global and made it personal. With an eye always tuned to his sociopolitical environment, Goldberg hopes his trio will have an increasing impact not limited to the jazz world. “Jazz, a language like any other, is open to Creole forms – indeed like America it was born to mixed parents,” he says. “Yet this album is no fusion, except perhaps of minds. Rather it attempts to prove that song is cross-cultural currency. All music is social, emerging out of a womb of trust, empathy, and a common goal. Our world is now many … may we also be one.”
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Aaron Goldberg Trio
Reuben R. Rogers has a natural penchant for story telling and a gift for injecting a good feeling into any musical situation. Born November 15, 1974, and raised in the Virgin Islands, Rogers was exposed to a wide variety of music including Calypso, Reggae, Gospel and Jazz, and at the tender age of 14 found his true passion in the bass. He earned his Bachelor of Music in 1997 from Berklee College of Music. Rogers' command of both the electric and acoustic bass, his ability to transport the emotion of a piece into his accompaniment and his vast creative energy has led him to be one of the most sought after bassists of his generation. He has enjoyed the opportunity of intense musical relationships with multiple jazz artists of world-renown, such as Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, Marcus Roberts, Nicholas Payton, Mulgrew Miller, Jackie McLean, Charles Lloyd and Dianne Reeves, amongst others. Rogers' peers also continue to influence and enrich his musical style and direction. He has toured extensively all over the globe, and has recorded on over 60 CDs, including his debut solo project, "The Things I Am”, produced by fellow St. Thomas native Ron Blake. Ever committed to supporting the arts in the Virgin Islands, Rogers returns when his schedule permits to conduct music workshops in local schools and organize fundraising concerts that benefit the education of today's island youth.
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AARON GOLDBERG PRESS QUOTES
“One of jazz’s most delectable trios…a superlative group. The ensemble has forged a singular sound with an expansive textural palette and a tenaciously intuitive approach to shaping material on the bandstand. Gorgeous, one of the era’s definitive piano trios. Goldberg possesses exceptional technique and taste.”
- The Boston Globe
“Selfless in all the right ways. Doesn’t set out to demonstrate virtuosity, speed, or heat, though all three are at his disposal. He’s versatile and impressive, and he swings hard. Goldberg has honed his trio to a fine point over the years.”
- The New York Times
“A talented artist whose calling card is unadorned musicianship.”
- Billboard
“A rare balance of chops and interplay”
- Rolling Stone
“Look for this disc [Worlds] to appear on many best-of-2006 lists…Goldberg’s manifold talents are best displayed leading his super-smart threesome.
- Hothouse
“A bright young talent…telepathic…Goldberg sparkled...delightfully conceived solos...a first-rate pianist”
- The Chicago Sun-Times
“Goldberg is one of the most impressive pianists on the scene…especially good at creating intricate, haunting chamber music.”
- The Edmonton Sun
“Time and again displays an original approach that’s moving him into the upper echelons of jazz improvisers.”
- The Boston Herald
“One of the most exciting trios in jazz”
- The Monterey Weekly
“Superb.”
- The LA Times
"Sterling, one of the most impressive young mainstream players at work today."
- The Seattle Weekly
"A wonderful young pianist...Goldberg unleashed the first of a series of stunning improvisations that made listeners crane their necks to check him out. He was always trying to shift the music into fresh rhythmic and tonal territories."
- The Guardian (London)
“Dazzling solos and sensitive accompaniment”
- The Orange County Register
"The formidable new voice on piano."
- The Santa Barbara Independent
“An exquisite pianist...undoubtedly will be one of the most important jazz pianists of the beginning of the 21st century.”
- The Voice of Puerto Rico
“Goldberg possesses unlimited technique…impeccable taste.”
- JazzTimes
“Talk about burning. Goldberg's chops and rhythmic imagination are tremendous… Shares a thorough understanding of the blues, Latin rhythms, harmonic placement, and woodshedding keyboard mastery. And he swings! Marvelous.”
- All About Jazz
"A brilliant pianist"
- Jazzman
“A linear player with smooth technique…elegance and skill.”
- VH1.com
“Smart, fiery, swinging.”
- All Music Guide
"Displays uncommon sensitivity, enormous swing, an amazing selection of voicings, and listens with a radar that permits him to react to the slightest change of direction."
- Keyboards
"A new and welcome voice."
- DownBeat Magazine
“Full of verve and imagination. If you want to hear a new jazz pianist at the start of a brilliant career, check out the sounds of Aaron Goldberg.”
- Jazzreview.com
“Finesse and intelligent talent…pianist Aaron Goldberg's killer solo ranks at the top as one of the most incredible pieces of piano workmanship.”
-Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
“Breathtaking”
-Evening Standard (London)
“Goldberg played a heroic solo.”
-The Independent (London)
“The group displays not only technical facility but a reassuring intra-group sensitivity that disarms the listener. Worlds posits that jazz, spawned by cultural diversity, communicates most effectively the possibility of global understanding…Goldberg’s trio might be an emissary of such understanding.
- All About Jazz New York
“An impressive display of Goldberg variations…a clean, precise touch…warmth and creative interaction between the musicians”
- All About Jazz Los Angeles
“Goldberg’s playing is just delectable from start to finish…go ahead and wallow in this trio’s mastery of the idiom…endlessly inventive interplay among the trio members. It’s unusual that so young a leader can convey and communicate so coherent a musical vision over the course of an album.” - AllAboutJazz.com
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