“For over 20 years, pianist Aaron Goldberg has set himself apart as one of the most scintillating performers in jazz,” hails JazzTimes. Goldberg is widely heralded as one of the art form’s most compelling pianists, both leading his own trio and collaborating with such brilliant icons as Joshua Redman, Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Guillermo Klein and many more. Simultaneously swinging and embracing risk, his stylistically fluid, singular voice reveals that jazz is a tradition of innovation.  

Goldberg became a jazz devotee in high school as a student at Milton Academy in Boston. He was introduced to the African-American art form by bassist and master educator Bob Sinicrope, and at age 16 began study with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi.  As Aaron puts it, “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 Magazine, he moved to New York City at 17 to attend The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.  Devoting himself entirely to music for the first time, he won the NFAA Recognition and Talent Search and IAJE Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship, attending classes by day and performing in NYC clubs by night, inspired by NYC’s myriad living masters.    

After spending a year at The New School, Aaron enrolled at Harvard College and began a cross-disciplinary program in philosophy, psychology and the history of science.  He graduated magna cum laude in 1996 with a concentration in Mind, Brain and Behavior.  While at Harvard he juggled academics with an equally intense musical docket.  At age 18 he was discovered by the inimitable vocalist Betty Carter and became a founding member of Carter’s famed Jazz Ahead throughout his college years.  He performed locally with Boston legends Jerry Bergonzi, Alan Dawson, and Bill Pierce, played every weekend at Wally’s Café and spent summers in NYC on the bandstand with up-and-coming talents such as Mark Turner and Omer Avital. 

Aaron promptly moved back to New York after college, continuing his ascent in bands led by a cross-generational array of icons including Al Foster, Freddie Hubbard, Nicholas Payton, Stefon Harris, Tom Harrell, and Gregory Tardy among others.  In late 1997 he formed his first trio with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland, a widely acclaimed empathic unit that would perform and record consistently for the next two decades and leave their mark upon a generation of musicians. 

Beginning in early 1998 Aaron began to garner worldwide attention touring and recording with the Joshua Redman Quartet, marking the beginning of a longstanding artistic collaboration and friendship that endures today.  In 2004 he began a four-year tenure with guitar guru Kurt Rosenwinkel, and in 2005 toured extensively with Wynton Marsalis’s quintet as well as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.  Despite this demanding schedule Aaron earned an M.A. in Philosophy at Tufts University in 2010 under Daniel Dennett, commuting for class and writing papers while on the road.  Over the past decade he has toured extensively with his own Trio as well as the Joshua Redman Quartet, carving time for collaborations with some of his other favorite artists including Cecile McLorin Salvant, Ron Carter, Joe Lovano, Peter Bernstein, Camila Meza, Ravi Coltrane, Carl Allen, Madeleine Peyroux, John Ellis and Eli Degibri. 

Aaron’s most recent recordings as a bandleader include At the Edge of the World (2018, Sunnyside Records) which features bassist Matt Penman and master drummer/body percussionist Leon Parker.  Jazziz notes that the album “rekindles a musical relationship that in the past has provided many sparks and no shortage of fireworks.” The Now (2015) foregrounds his original trio comprising two of the finest musicians of his generation, Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland.  These follow upon Home (2010) and Worlds (2006), also on Sunnyside, which both capture the sensitivity and dynamism of this tight-knit trio along with special guests. The three recently returned to the studio for an upcoming trio release in 2023.  Given that Goldberg’s debut recording, Turning Point, first appeared on the J Curve label in 1999, followed by Unfolding on the same imprint in 2002, the upcoming album will mark 25 years of musical fellowship.

Aaron’s contemporaneous collaborative project Yes! Trio is a trilateral celebration co-led by Omer Avital and Ali Jackson Jr.  Groove du Jour (2019) marks their long-awaited release on the Jazz & People label, after their eponymous debut on Sunnyside in 2012. “This sensational meeting of players is a near-perfect mixture of ingredients, bristling with braggadocious energy” says DOWNBEAT.  Goldberg's other critically acclaimed collaborations include a unique co-led album with Argentinian master composer Guillermo Klein entitled Bienestan (2011), as well as an upcoming duet project with Palestinian qanunist and vocalist Ali Paris, exploring the intersections of Arabic traditions and jazz as well as art and politics.  As a co-leader Goldberg recorded 4 albums with the OAM Trio, appears upon over 100 more as a sideman, and co-wrote with John Ellis a series of educational cd’s for children entitled Baby Loves Jazz. 

As a citizen Aaron maintains an active interest in education and political engagement, including in the role of music in society as a whole.  In 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 he produced and performed in Jazz for America's Future, Jazz for Obama, Jazz for Obama 2012, Jazz For America’s Future 2016 and Jazz for America, historic fundraising concerts for the presidential campaigns of John Kerry, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden.  Aaron is a member of the faculty at both the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and William Paterson University, and frequently travels as a clinician to conservatories and workshops across the world. In 2019, Goldberg received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from University of the Arts Helsinki– the highest acknowledgement that the university can confer. 

Throughout his career Aaron Goldberg has surrounded himself with kindred spirits in pursuit of the highest expression. He and his bandmates embody the best of what jazz can be today: the ability to speak together in a progressive voice, marking both present and future with their creative stamp.  Aaron’s joy in communal improvisation continues to inspire audiences around the planet, empowering the human spirit to embrace each moment.  

Recent CD Reviews Include

"Jazz doesn't have many great albums featuring two pianists...so 'Bienestan' is exceptional in more than one sense. The music is complex but never cold, and when the keyboardists do square off alone they sound entwined, like extensions of each other." - The New York Times

“On this lush and superlatively swinging set, Jackson, Goldberg and Avital explore the value of time and space, and what happens when those musical principles are measured with grace and a little grit. The YES! Trio seemingly knock back a few cool ones,take their own sweet time and put some serious soul to CD.” - DOWNBEAT

“‘Home’ is full of swirling currents and dizzying flourishes, but its basic temperament is reflective, inward-seeking. It’s a statement of confident serenity. ” - The New York Times

“On ‘Worlds’ Goldberg works hand-in-glove with Rogers and Harland, his bass–drum team of choice for the last decade, displaying quick-witted harmonic reflexes, fluid command of line and a cut-to-the-chase sense of narrative logic.” - DOWNBEAT

 “...a superlative group [which has] forged a singular sound with an expansive textural palette and a tenaciously intuitive approach…one of the era's definitive piano trios.”  - The Boston Globe

“[Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland] have been a part of Mr. Goldberg’s working trio for well over a decade, and to hear them is to recognize the benefit of experience, which only continues to deepen…Mr. Goldberg’s bright fluency and pristine articulation are the guiding characteristics of the band, whether his sidemen are drifting peaceably beside him or agitating beneath.” - The New York Times 

“…one of the strongest young rhythm sections in jazz.”  - JazzTimes 

"Selfless in all the right ways. Doesn’t set out to demonstrate virtuosity, speed, or heat, though all three are at his disposal.” - The New York Times

“He’s versatile and impressive, and he swings hard.”  - The New York Times

High proficiency cohabits with modest composure in the music of Aaron Goldberg.  ‘Home’, his accomplished fourth album, is full of swirling currents and dizzying flourishes, but its basic temperament is reflective, inward-seeking.  It’s a statement of confident serenity.”  - The New York Times