Biography
Piano
Aaron Diehl
Since his debut release on Mack Avenue Records in 2013, pianist and composer AARON DIEHL has mystified listeners with his layered artistry. His expression transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum, and Jelly Roll Morton.
Born in Columbus, OH, Mr. Diehl flourished among family members supportive of his artistic inclinations. His grandfather, pianist and trombonist Arthur Baskerville, inspired him to pursue music. In 2003, he traveled to New York; following his success as a finalist in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2002 Essentially Ellington competition and a subsequent European tour with Wynton Marsalis, he began studying with Kenny Barron, Eric Reed, and Oxana Yablonskaya, earning a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School.
Mr. Diehl has appeared at the Barbican, Elbphilharmonie, Philharmonie de Paris, Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Village Vanguard, and Ronnie Scott’s. Jazz festival appearances include performances at Detroit, Newport, Atlanta and Monterey, for which he received the 2014 festival commission. Orchestral performances include engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2021. He has also collaborated with some of the music’s most fascinating and enduring figures including Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Buster Williams, Branford Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, and Philip Glass. Recent highlights have included appearing in the New York premiere of Glass’s complete Etudes at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and collaborating with flamenco guitarist Dani De Morón in Flamenco Meets Jazz.
Born in Columbus, OH, Mr. Diehl flourished among family members supportive of his artistic inclinations. His grandfather, pianist and trombonist Arthur Baskerville, inspired him to pursue music. In 2003, he traveled to New York; following his success as a finalist in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2002 Essentially Ellington competition and a subsequent European tour with Wynton Marsalis, he began studying with Kenny Barron, Eric Reed, and Oxana Yablonskaya, earning a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School.
Mr. Diehl has appeared at the Barbican, Elbphilharmonie, Philharmonie de Paris, Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Village Vanguard, and Ronnie Scott’s. Jazz festival appearances include performances at Detroit, Newport, Atlanta and Monterey, for which he received the 2014 festival commission. Orchestral performances include engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2021. He has also collaborated with some of the music’s most fascinating and enduring figures including Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Buster Williams, Branford Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, and Philip Glass. Recent highlights have included appearing in the New York premiere of Glass’s complete Etudes at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and collaborating with flamenco guitarist Dani De Morón in Flamenco Meets Jazz.
