Aaron Bridgers

For the North Carolina politician, see A. R. Bridgers.
Aaron Bridgers
BornJanuary 10, 1918
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
DiedNovember 3, 2003(2003-11-03) (aged 85)
Paris France[1]
OccupationPianist

Aaron Bridgers (January 10, 1918 – November 3, 2003)[2] was an American jazz pianist and composer.

Bridgers grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where he learned to play piano[3][4] and where he met Duke Ellington. Bridgers had moved to New York City, working side jobs and continuing to study piano when Ellington introduced him to Billy Strayhorn. Soon after Bridgers and Strayhorn moved in together becoming lovers from 1939 until Bridgers's move to France in 1947.[5][6]

Bridgers is featured in the Paul Newman film Paris Blues (1961).

  1. ^ "Aaron Bridgers | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  2. ^ Henriques, Kevin (2003-12-22). "Aaron Bridgers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  3. ^ "Jazz Pianist Visits Home". Winston-Salem Journal. 1959-12-06. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  4. ^ "Walter Bridgers". Winston-Salem Journal. 1961-06-21. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  5. ^ van de Leur, Walter (2002), Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn, Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Hajdu, David (2013-04-26). Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 67–68. ISBN 978-1-4668-4278-6.