Description:

This is the 2013 ECM debut album from pianist/composer Aaron Parks, who joined Terence Blanchard's band at the age of 18 and has since been sought after by a number of leading musicians. This solo piano work is a reimagining of traditional traditional folk songs by Bartok, a solo piano work that he says was a revelation, a record that feels vulnerable and naked, like Paul Bley's album Open, to Love, where he plays the piano just for himself. Almost nothing is prearranged; everything is an improvised session in the studio. Recorded in the warm, clear acoustics of Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, with low lighting, the music is extremely personal and intimate. It is as if Parks himself is whispering the melodies. (C)RS