Aaron Parks: Arborescence

By releasing his first solo piano album on Munich's ECM label, young US pianist Aaron Parks is treading in illustrious footsteps – not least those of Keith Jarrett and Paul Bley, who both emerge as key sources in his dramatic monologue. Singing softly along in the manner of the former and evincing the waywardly melodic inventiveness of the latter, Parks opens his fertile mind and lets his largely spontaneous pieces wander where they will. There are moments of utter delight, where melodies drop glistening into deep pools of harmony, but times too when the pianist appears to be searching in the half-light for new paths to the waterfall. There are few pyrotechnics (Parks is refreshingly plain spoken at the keyboard), but there is a childlike delight in the sheer potential of the instrument. aaronparks.com