Aaron Goldberg

Aaron Goldberg
Photo by Heather Allamon
Background information
Birth name	Aaron Phillip Goldberg
Born	(1974-04-30) April 30, 1974 (age 43) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1995–present
Labels	J Curve, Sunnyside
Associated acts	Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Wynton Marsalis, Al Foster, Betty Carter
Website	aarongoldberg.com

Aaron Goldberg is an American jazz pianist. Described by The New York Times 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, Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Guillermo Klein, among others.

Aaron Goldberg was born in Boston to Alfred 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, 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, and devoted his off-hours to practicing the piano and performing in New York clubs.

Due in part to his parent's 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. His course of study shifted as Harvard created an interdisciplinary program in Mind, Brain, and Behavior. With philosopher Robert Nozick as his thesis advisor, Goldberg wrote a thesis on scientific theories of consciousness, and graduated magna cum laude as the first person to receive the new program's degree.

While an undergraduate, Goldberg maintained a focus on music, and as a freshman was awarded the International Association of Jazz Educators' Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship. He spent considerable time both musically and socially with jazz players at Berklee College of Music 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.