Biography
With a refined approach to jazz piano, Aaron Goldberg displays harmonic sophistication alongside an inclination for introspective contemporary improvisational creativity. Having earned his degree from Harvard, he first attracted notice in the early years of the 2000s through his role in saxophonist Joshua Redman’s ensemble. On his own, he has produced several well-received trio and quartet recordings, among them Worlds in 2006 and Home in 2010.
Goldberg entered the world in Boston, Massachusetts in 1974 and took up the piano near the age of 12, acquiring foundational training during high school from figures such as Bob Sinicrope and Jerry Bergonzi. He sharpened his abilities at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music before transferring to Harvard, where he concentrated on history and science rather than music and completed his magna cum laude degree in 1996 through the Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative program. Throughout his Harvard years he maintained an active performance schedule at the Boston jazz venue Wally’s and received the International Association of Jazz Educators’ Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship. Following graduation he redirected his energies toward music, directing his own ensembles and joining saxophonist Redman’s group. His debut recording as leader arrived with 1999’s Turning Point, an urbane session that included Redman and saxophonist Mark Turner.
The second album under his name, 2001’s Unfolding, again featured bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland, both colleagues from Redman’s band. After touring with Redman in 2002, Goldberg established himself in New York and continued working with artists including Jimmy Greene, Wayne Escoffery, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. He also spent time in Brazil and accompanied vocalist Madeleine Peyroux on a South American tour while becoming a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In 2006 he resumed his own projects with Worlds, once more uniting Rogers and Harland.
Around the same period he returned to academic study at Tufts University, earning a Master’s degree in Analytic Philosophy in 2010. After completing that degree he released the quartet album Home with Mark Turner, followed the next year by Bienestan alongside Argentinian pianist Guillermo Klein. He also issued the trio recording Yes! featuring bassist Omer Avital and drummer Ali Jackson, Jr. During this time, after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Goldberg conducted free workshops there and participated in a 2014 benefit for the Haitian Education and Leadership Program. He later reunited with Rogers and Harland for the 2015 trio album The Now, which included a guest appearance by guitarist Rosenwinkel. In 2018 he presented a fresh trio project, At the Edge of the World, with bassist Matt Penman and drummer Leon Parker.
Goldberg entered the world in Boston, Massachusetts in 1974 and took up the piano near the age of 12, acquiring foundational training during high school from figures such as Bob Sinicrope and Jerry Bergonzi. He sharpened his abilities at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music before transferring to Harvard, where he concentrated on history and science rather than music and completed his magna cum laude degree in 1996 through the Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative program. Throughout his Harvard years he maintained an active performance schedule at the Boston jazz venue Wally’s and received the International Association of Jazz Educators’ Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship. Following graduation he redirected his energies toward music, directing his own ensembles and joining saxophonist Redman’s group. His debut recording as leader arrived with 1999’s Turning Point, an urbane session that included Redman and saxophonist Mark Turner.
The second album under his name, 2001’s Unfolding, again featured bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland, both colleagues from Redman’s band. After touring with Redman in 2002, Goldberg established himself in New York and continued working with artists including Jimmy Greene, Wayne Escoffery, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. He also spent time in Brazil and accompanied vocalist Madeleine Peyroux on a South American tour while becoming a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In 2006 he resumed his own projects with Worlds, once more uniting Rogers and Harland.
Around the same period he returned to academic study at Tufts University, earning a Master’s degree in Analytic Philosophy in 2010. After completing that degree he released the quartet album Home with Mark Turner, followed the next year by Bienestan alongside Argentinian pianist Guillermo Klein. He also issued the trio recording Yes! featuring bassist Omer Avital and drummer Ali Jackson, Jr. During this time, after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Goldberg conducted free workshops there and participated in a 2014 benefit for the Haitian Education and Leadership Program. He later reunited with Rogers and Harland for the 2015 trio album The Now, which included a guest appearance by guitarist Rosenwinkel. In 2018 he presented a fresh trio project, At the Edge of the World, with bassist Matt Penman and drummer Leon Parker.
Albums
