Jazz pianist and Columbus native Aaron Diehl to play with Jazz Arts Group on Thursday
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Jazz pianist Aaron Diehl is out to prove that you can go home again.
In fact, Diehl, who was born and raised in Columbus and now lives in Brooklyn, will do it twice in the weeks and months ahead.
On Thursday in the Lincoln Theatre, Diehl will perform as part of his trio in a concert hosted by the Jazz Arts Group. Then, next March, he will be back in town as the featured soloist in concerts with the Columbus Symphony.
The performances will demonstrate how far the 37-year-old pianist has come since he last called Columbus home nearly two decades ago. While attending St. Charles Preparatory School, he played in the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra (which operates under the umbrella of the Jazz Arts Group).
That experience was a springboard to the Juilliard School, from which he graduated in 2007, and a subsequent professional career in which he has earned accolades for his albums, on which he plays his original compositions, and live performances.
More: Columbus SymphonyThe Columbus Symphony's new season is full of orchestral barnburners, it's biggest yet
Central Ohio still 'home' for Aaron Diehl
But visits home are meaningful for Diehl, whose mother, Estelle, and sister, Ingrid, still live in central Ohio. (His father, Richard, died in January.)
Ahead of Thursday’s concert, The Dispatch caught up with Diehl by phone.
Question: What will your trio be playing on Thursday?
Diehl: This will be music that I was just releasing right before the pandemic hit in 2020 (on) a record that I had released called “The Vagabond.” . . . Then some things that I was working on during the pandemic when things shut down, and then some new compositions that I wrote just recently.
Q: You’re also playing with the Columbus Symphony in March.
Diehl: I’d say that’s even more exciting than playing at Carnegie Hall, to be honest. I grew up going to the symphony. My parents took me, they knew I had a love for music and they wanted me to be exposed to the symphony.
Q: Your parents bought you a baby grand piano when you were about 5 years old, right?
Diehl: Originally, that was sort of part of the furniture. My grandfather, Art Baskerville, who played piano and trombone, would often come over and play. I always gravitated towards the piano. When they got that piano, I remember spending hours, just kind of thinking about what was going on with these keys. My parents had a book of Christmas songs, and I was trying to teach myself how to read music based on “Deck the Halls.” I knew how it sounded, so I would just associate the sounds that I heard through the melody to what I was looking at on the page. This was before I started piano lessons.
More: Columbus Jazz OrchestraColumbus Jazz Orchestra to kick off 2022-23 season in October with Louis Armstrong tribute
Q: When did jazz enter your life?
Diehl: Linda Dactyl was my elementary school band teacher at St. Mary (School) in German Village. I remember always coming to band and wanting to learn about (Duke Ellington’s) “Satin Doll” and (jazz pianist and composer) Billy Strayhorn or show her what my grandfather might have taught me.
Q: In time, you joined the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra. Were you the coolest kid at St. Charles Prep?
Diehl: I played at Carnegie about a month ago, and I had about five or six of my classmates come and hear me all the way from Columbus. At the time, when you’re in high school, playing jazz piano doesn’t have the same kind of weight as being a star football player or something like that, but I think people recognized what I did. They knew that it was unique. . . . I went to this predominantly academic school, and many of the boys there were working towards getting into major colleges to study business or political science, and for me, wanting to go to Juilliard, that was very unusual.
Q: When you reflect on your years with the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra, how important was that to you?
Diehl: Let me tell you how important it is to me: I talk to Todd (Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra director Todd Stoll) at least once a week. . . . He was so instrumental for many students in teaching us about the significance of the art form, and what it means in a broader context culturally but also introducing us to the people who would give us inspiration (and) give us mentoring.
Q: It sounds like you relish the opportunities to make music in your hometown.
Diehl: Now that I’ve been out of Columbus for almost 20 years — I left in 2003 — I really realize how special it was to grow up in a city like Columbus, which had a very strong, robust and nurturing arts scene. . . . . I had all of the opportunities that could be afforded to a young musician at that time. It’s so essential not just to develop burgeoning musicians to become professional musicians, (but) I think people who appreciate the arts and can come to understand how essential the arts are in our day-to-day lives and being a part of the fabric of the city — that’s a unique trait about Columbus.
At a glance
The Aaron Diehl Trio will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St. Tickets cost $28.35. For more information, visit www.jazzartsgroup.org.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pianist and Columbus native Aaron Diehl to perform with Jazz Arts Group
