William Edward Childs
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William Edward Childs (best known as “Billy Childs”) is a jazz pianist and composer from Los Angeles. Born March 8, 1957, he began piano lessons when he was six. He knew from an early age that he would be a professional musician. When he was 16, Childs started attending the Community School of the Performing Arts, a prestigious music program sponsored by USC. He attended USC during 1975-79, earning a bachelor of music degree in composition.
Childs was playing professionally as a teenager and he made his recording debut in 1977 with the J.J. Johnson Quintet during a tour of Japan that is documented as Yokohama Concert. He gained some attention during his six-years (1978-84) playing with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard’s group. While influenced early on in his playing by Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, Childs had an original conception of his own from near the start, developing his own voice as both a pianist and a composer in post bop jazz.
Childs led the group Night Flight for a time, a unit that included singer Dianne Reeves (with whom he has continued playing with on an occasional basis). He led his first four albums for the Windham Hall Jazz label during 1988-93; His April Touch and Portrait Of A Player in particular received very favorable reviews. During this period Childs often led an acoustic quartet that included multireedist Bob Sheppard and he occasionally utilized electric keyboards and synthesizers for color.
Billy Childs led CDs for Stretch (I’ve Known Rivers) and Shanachie (The Child Within), gaining three Grammy nominations during 1996-97. In 2000 Childs arranged, orchestrated and conducted for the Dianne Reeves recording project The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan, receiving a fourth Grammy nomination for his arrangement of “Fascinating Rhythm.” His innovative Jazz-Chamber Ensemble (which includes Sheppard, guitarist Larry Koonse and harpist Carol Robbins) was awarded a grant by Chamber Music America. 2005’s Lyric documents that group with additional instruments and a string section. Childs has also produced a CD for singer Claudia Acuna (Rhythm Of Life), written two major works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1993’s “Tone Poem For Holly” and 2004’s “For Suzanne”) and composed “The Fierce Urgency Of Now,” which sets some of the texts of Dr. Martin Luther King to music. Childs performed that work with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He also wrote a cantata for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, “The Voices Of Angels.” In 2006 he won two Grammies, one for best instrumental composition (“Into The Light” from Lyric) and the other for an arrangement from a Chris Botti CD. In addition to his own recordings and those mentioned, Childs recorded as a sideman with Grover Washington Jr, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Locke, the Headhunters, Fareed Haque, Bob Sheppard, Bob Belden and Allan Holdsworth.
Billy Childs spent much of 2006 touring with trumpeter Chris Botti, not just as a pianist-keyboardist but also as an arranger. He recently took a leave of absence from Botti to work on his own projects.
[edit] Discography
| Title | Year of Release | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take For Example This | 1988 | Windham Hill Jazz | |
| Twilight Is Upon Us | 1989 | Windham Hill Jazz | |
| His April Touch | 1991 | Windham Hill Jazz | |
| Portrait Of A Player | 1993 | Windham Hill Jazz | |
| I've Known Rivers | 1995 | Stretch | |
| The Child Within | 1996 | Shanachie | |
| Skim Coat | 1999 | Metropolitan | |
| Bedtime Stories | 2000 | 32 Jazz | |
| Lyric: Jazz-Chamber Music Vol. 1 | 2005 | Lunacy |
