Aaron Goldberg (born April 30, 1974), is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist. Described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as a "post-bop pianist of exemplary taste and range", Goldberg has released five albums as a solo artist and has performed and collaborated with

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman a ...

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator, keyboardist and record label owner. Biography Born in Philadelphia to a musical family, Rosenwinkel began taking piano lessons when ...

, and Guillermo Klein, among others.

Early life and education

Aaron Goldberg was born in Boston to Alfred L. Goldberg, a biochemist, and Joan Helpern Goldberg, a hematologist, and has one younger sister, Julie Goldberg. He began taking piano lessons at 7, and started playing jazz when he was 14. As a high school student at

Milton Academy Milton Academy (informally referred to as Milton) is a coeducational, co-educational, Independent school, independent, and College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts, educating students in g ...

, Goldberg was introduced to improvisation by Bob Sinicrope, the founder of Milton's Jazz Program, and at 16 studied with saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi. Goldberg moved to New York City at 17 to attend the

New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music is a Private university, private music school of The New School in New York City. It is located on 13th Street (Manhattan), West 13th Street in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village. It was once known ...

, and devoted his off-hours to practicing the piano and performing in New York clubs. Due in part to his parents' insistence on attending a traditional academic college, Goldberg returned to Boston a year later to pursue a degree in history and science at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. His course of study shifted as Harvard created an interdisciplinary program in Mind, Brain, and Behavior. With philosopher

Robert Nozick Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher. He held the Joseph Pellegrino Harvard University Professor, University Professorship at Harvard University, While an undergraduate, Goldberg maintained a focus on music, and as a freshman was awarded the International Association of Jazz Educators'

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

Fellowship. He spent considerable time both musically and socially with jazz players at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

and continued to perform on piano, playing frequently at Boston venues including Wally's Cafe. He spent the summers in Manhattan, performing and maintaining his ties in the New York jazz scene.

Career

In 1996, following his graduation, Goldberg moved back to New York and once again concentrated on music. Among others, he performed with Mark Turner,

Gregory Tardy Gregory Tardy (born February 3, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, who has released albums for the record labels WJ3 Records SteepleChase Records, J Curve Records, and Impulse! Records.Allmusic discography/ref> He has played w ...

, and

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

, whom Goldberg first met as a founding member of her Jazz Ahead program while at Harvard. In 1998, he formed the Aaron Goldberg Trio with

Reuben Rogers Reuben Renwick Rogers (born November 15, 1974) is a jazz bassist from the Virgin Islands. Biography Born November 15, 1974, and raised in the Virgin Islands, Rogers was exposed to varieties of music that included calypso, reggae, gospel an ...

on bass and

Eric Harland Eric Harland (born November 8, 1976, in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz drummer. In addition to leading his own group, Harland is a member of Charles Lloyd's Quartet, Dave Holland's Prism, James Farm with Joshua Redman, and Taylor Eigsti ...

on drums, and the trio released their debut album, ''Turning Point'', on J Curve in 1999. He also began what would become a lengthy association with saxophonist

, and toured extensively with him. In 2001, as he continued to tour with Redman, the Aaron Goldberg Trio released a second album, ''Unfolding'', on J Curve. Goldberg was on the road with Redman full-time until 2002, when he returned to New York to perform with jazz performers including

Nicholas Payton Nicholas Payton (born September 26, 1973) is an American trumpet player and multi-instrumentalist. A Grammy Award winner, he is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a writer who comments on subjects including music, race, politics, and life i ...

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (January 18, 1943 – May 28, 2025) was an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-1960s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and Swing music, swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and ...

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

, and

Stefon Harris Stefon DeLeon Harris (born March 23, 1973) is an American jazz vibraphonist. Biography A native of Albany, New York, Harris intended to work for the New York Philharmonic until he heard the music of Charlie Parker. During the 1990s he recorded ...

. In addition, inspired by a passion for the country's music, he traveled frequently to Brazil between 2000 and 2002. In 2005, he toured South America with

Madeleine Peyroux Madeleine Peyroux (born April 19, 1974) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. She sang vintage jazz and blues songs before finding mainstream success in 2004 when her album ''Carele ...

, joined the bands of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Wynton Marsalis, and performed worldwide as a member of the

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (also known as the JLCO) is an American big band and jazz orchestra led by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. The orchestra is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a performing arts organization in New York City. History ...

. As his career as a pianist continued to gain momentum, Goldberg decided to pursue a long-held ambition to continue exploring themes from his senior thesis and obtain a master's degree in philosophy. In 2005, he enrolled in a master's program at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, located in

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus on both sides of the Medford and Somervill ...

, a suburb of Boston. Living in New York, Goldberg commuted to Boston for classes, and juggled performances with Marsalis, Rosenwinkel, and his own band in New York and elsewhere. He earned a master's degree in

Analytic Philosophy Analytic philosophy is a broad movement within Western philosophy, especially English-speaking world, anglophone philosophy, focused on analysis as a philosophical method; clarity of prose; rigor in arguments; and making use of formal logic, mat ...

in 2010, with

Daniel Dennett Daniel Clement Dennett III (March 28, 1942 – April 19, 2024) was an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. His research centered on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those ...

serving as his academic adviser, and began once again to focus strictly on music. He released a new album, ''Home'', in 2010, and ''Bienestan'', a collaboration with Argentinian composer Guillermo Klein, in 2012. ''Yes!'', an album he recorded with Omer Avital and Ali Jackson was also released in 2012. In 2006, Goldberg's "OAM's Blues" from his ''Worlds'' album was included as sample music in the

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...

operating system. Windows Vista sold over 88 million copies. In November 2014, Goldberg released ''The Now'', a 10-song album of his own compositions, jazz standards, and reworkings of Brazilian songs. Recorded with Harland on drums and Rogers on bass, ''The Now'' has received significant critical acclaim, with ''The New York Times'' describing it as "superb" and ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' noting its "elegance" and "sly wit." ''

The Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newspap ...

'' wrote: "It's a vivid portrait of an artist who excels in several distinct directions." Aaron has collaborated with many jazz musicians including

, Guillermo Klein, Charles Lloyd,

, Dario Chiazzolino, Greg Tardy. He is a

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

Artist.

Personal

Goldberg organized Jazz for America's Future, a fundraising concert for

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

in 2004, and organized Jazz for Obama, a similar effort in 2008 and again in 2012. He performed and led free workshops in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, and participated in the 2014 fundraiser for the Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP). Goldberg lives in New York City.

Discography

As leader

As co-leader

* ''Trilingual'', OAM Trio, (

Fresh Sound Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label. The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...

, 2000) * ''Flow'', OAM Trio, (Fresh Sound, 2002) * ''Live in Sevilla'', OAM Trio, (LOLA, 2003) * ''Baby Loves Jazz, Volumes 1–9'' (Penguin, 2006–2007) * ''Now & Here'' OAM Trio (Karonte, 2009) * ''Bienestan'' (Sunnyside, 2011) * ''Yes!'' (Sunnyside, 2012)

As sideman

* ''David Rex - Tour of Fate'' 2012 * ''Walter Smith III - Live In Paris'' (Space Time, 2009) * ''

- Come What May'' (Nonesuch, 2019) * ''Omer Avital – The Ancient Art Of Giving'' (Smalls Records, 2006) * ''

Passage of Time ''Passage of Time'' is a studio album by American jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman. The record was released on March 27, 2001 by Warner Bros. label. Background In this album, Joshua Redman strings together 8 different original compositions into a ...

'' (Warner Bros., 2001) * ''

- Beyond'' (Warner Bros., 2000) *

The Remedy (Kurt Rosenwinkel Album) ''The Remedy'' is Kurt Rosenwinkel's seventh album as a leader. It is a 2- disc album recorded live at the Village Vanguard in January 2006. All songs were written by Rosenwinkel except "Myrons World," which was written by Mark Turner.Lyles, R ...

External links

aarongoldberg.com
Aaron Goldberg's website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Aaron 1974 births Living people Milton Academy alumni American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Harvard University alumni Jewish American musicians Musicians from New York (state) Microsoft Windows sample music Jewish jazz musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians Sunnyside Records artists 21st-century American Jews Basho Records artists