These concerts are the North Carolina Symphony debut for Aaron Diehl and the Aaron Diehl Trio. Diehl will return to the Symphony this season in April 2022, where he will perform the Gershwin Piano Concerto for concerts in Raleigh and Chapel Hill.
Pianist and composer Aaron Diehl transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, and Jelly Roll Morton. Following three critically-acclaimed albums on Mack Avenue Records—and appearances with the New York Philharmonic and at historic venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Village Vanguard—the American Pianist Association’s 2011 Cole Porter fellow now focuses his attention on his forthcoming solo album and ongoing curation of Black American composers programming, with emphasis on William Grant Still.
A graduate of The Juilliard School, Diehl has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Philip Glass, and Grammy Award-winning artist Cecile McLorin Salvant. He has recently appeared with the New York Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra as featured soloist.
Paul Sikivie is an American jazz double bassist. Originally from Gainesville, Florida, he has lived in New York City since 2007, when he began studies at The Juilliard School. He has played with many artists of international stature, including long associations with Cecile McLorin Salvant, Aaron Diehl, Matt Wilson, Johnny O'Neal, Ted Nash, and Grant Stewart.
Since 2015, Sikivie has turned attention towards composition and arranging. Most notably, he melded string quartet and jazz piano trio for six pieces on McLorin Salvant's Dreams and Daggers, which was awarded the 2017 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Aaron Kimmel is a native of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Kenny Washington and Billy Drummond, and he is now a freelance drummer living in New York City. He frequently appears there at Smalls Jazz Club and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, performing as a sideman with the Benny Green Trio and Aaron Diehl, among others. He has also played with such jazz luminaries as Harry Allen, Ken Peplowski, Eric Alexander, Joe Magnarelli, Grant Stewart, Terell Stafford, Ryan Kisor, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Brian Lynch, Ann Hampton Callaway, Mary Stallings, and Jon Faddis.
