NORTHWEST NATIVE 3RD IN JAZZ CONTEST
by Paul De Barros, Seattle Times jazz critic

The Seattle Times
September 18, 2006 Monday
Fourth Edition

A pianist raised in Seattle has snagged third place in the 2006
Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.

Aaron Parks, 22, was one of three finalists selected Saturday from a
field of 12 semifinalists. The finals were held Sunday at the Kennedy
Center’s Eisenhower Theater, in Washington, D.C. First place went to
Tigran Hamasyan, from Armenia, and second place to Gerald Clayton,
son of bassist John Clayton, artistic director of the Jazz Port
Townsend Festival.

One of the most prestigious awards in jazz, the Monk competition has
launched the careers of Joshua Redman and Jane Monheit, among others.

The annual contest is presented by the Thelonious Monk Institute of
Jazz, founded in 1986, which sponsored the first competition in 1987.

A different instrument is showcased each year.

The first-place prize is $20,000; second place is $10,000; third
place is $5,000.

Parks grew up on Whidbey Island and in Seattle and began playing
piano when he was 10 years old. A prodigy, he went directly from
middle school to the University of Washington, where he studied
with pianist Marc Seales. At 16, Parks left the UW to study at the
Manhattan School of Music, in New York, and is currently a member of
trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s group.

This year’s Monk competition judges were pianists Kenny Barron, Herbie
Hancock, Andrew Hill, Danilo Perez, Renee Rosnes, Billy Taylor and
Randy Weston.