Meany Center: Aaron Diehl

• Aaron Diehl, piano

Henry Thacker "Harry" Burleigh — From the Southland
Margaret Bonds — "III. Troubled Water" from Spiritual Suite
Mary Lou Williams — Black Christ of the Andes (St. Martin de Porres) (arr. Aaron Diehl)
William Grant Still — Three Visions
Florence Price — Piano Sonata in E minor
Duke Ellington — New World A-Comin’

A supremely talented pianist with "an organic, sophisticated approach" (DownBeat), Aaron Diehl's multilayered artistry resides in both the classical and jazz realms. As one of the preeminent interpreters of the Great American Songbook, Diehl was named a Cole Porter Fellow by the American Pianists Association. He performs with some of the world's leading orchestras and continues to release critically acclaimed albums. In his Meany debut, he presents a curated program featuring Black American composers of sacred and secular music.

"Melodic precision, harmonic erudition, and elegant restraint"
— The New York Times

About Meany Center for the Performing Arts

http://www.meanycenter.org

About Aaron Diehl, piano

Pianist and composer Aaron Diehl mystifies listeners with his layered artistry. At once temporal and ethereal, his expression transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, and Jelly Roll Morton. Following three critically-acclaimed leader albums on Mack Avenue Records — and live appearances at historic venues from Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Village Vanguard to New York Philharmonic and the Philharmonie de Paris — the American Pianist Association’s 2011 Cole Porter fellow now focuses his attention on what it means to be present within himself. His forthcoming solo record promises an expansion of that exploration in a setting at once unbound and intimate.

Aaron conjures three-dimensional expansion of melody, counterpoint and movement through time. Rather than choose one sound or another, he invites listeners into the chambered whole of his artistry. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Aaron traveled to New York in 2003, following his success as a finalist in JALC's Essentially Ellington competition and a subsequent European tour with Wynton Marsalis. His love affair with rub and tension prompted a years-long immersion in distinctive repertoire from Monk and Ravel to Gershwin and William Grant Still. Among other towering figures, Still in particular inspires Aaron's ongoing curation of Black American composers in his own performance programming.

Aaron has enjoyed artistic associations with Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Buster Williams, Branford Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Philip Glass, and multi GRAMMY award-winning artist Cecile McLorin Salvant. He recently appeared with the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra as featured soloist.

Aaron holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Juilliard. A licensed pilot, when he's not at the studio or on the road, he's likely in the air.

https://www.aarondiehl.com/