William Edward Childs

Billy Childs ( William Edward Childs, born March 8, 1957 in Los Angeles ) is an American jazz pianist and composer.

Childs had at the age of six years, first piano lessons at the age of sixteen, and attended the Community School of the Performing Arts, where he studied music theory with Marienne Uszler and piano with John Weisenfluh. From 1975 to 1979 he studied at the University of Southern California composition under Robert Linn.

Childs worked early on with JJ Johnson, with whom he released his first recordings. From 1978 to 1984 he was a partner of Freddie Hubbard, after he led Night Flight, a group that belonged to Dianne Reeves. Since 1988, he took on albums as a bandleader. Except with his own quartet, he also worked with Allan Holdsworth, Eddie Daniels, Bobby Hutcherson, Branford Marsalis and others.

Since the early 1990s Childs composed a number of classical works. As a composer and jazz musician, he has received eight Grammy nominations and was twice awarded the Grammy.

Discography

• Take for Example This ... with Mike Baker, Lenny Castro, Tony Dumas, Joe Heredia, Steve Houghton, Jimmy Johnson, Bob Sheppard, Carl Wurtz, 1988
• Twilight Is Upon Us with Mike Baker, Clayton Cameron, Luis Conte, Joseph Davis, Tony Dumas, Lynne Fiddmont, Reggie Hamilton, Jimmy Johnson, Nick Kirgo, Anthony Marinelli, Darryl Phinnessee, Bob Sheppard, 1989
• His April Touch with Mike Baker, Tony Dumas, Bruce Fowler, Walt Fowler, Jimmy Johnson, Bob Sheppard, 1991
• Portrait of a player with Tony Dumas, Billy Kilson, 1993
• I've known Rivers with Mike Baker, Mark Curry, Scott Henderson, Jimmy Johnson, Dianne Reeves, Carol Robbins, Bob Sheppard, Peter Sprague, Richard Todd, 1994
• Child Within with Terence Blanchard, Luis Bonilla, William Claxton, Ravi Coltrane, Dave Holland, Jeff Tain Watts, Steve Wilson, 1996
• Skim Coat with Carl Allen, Buster Williams, 1999
• Bedtime Stories with Billy Hart, Katherine Miller, George Mraz, 2000
• Lyric: Jazz Chamber Music - Volume 1 ( Lunacy, 2005) with Scott Colley, Brian Blade, Marvin Smitty Smith

Compositions

• Concerto for Percussion and Concert Band, UA North Texas State Wind Orchestra under Eugene Corporan 1986
• Fanfare for the United Races of America UA Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Esa -Pekka Salonen 1994
• The Distant Land, UA Akron Symphony Orchestra Alan Balter 1995
• Music for String Orchestra, UA under Phillip Brunelle 1989
• Concerto for Piano & Jazz Chamber Orchestra, 1994
• Just Like Job, cantata, UA 1997
• A Day in the Forest of Dreams for wind quintet and piano, UA Dorian Wind Quintet, 1997
• For Suzanne, UA Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Dianne Reeves conducted by the composer, 2004
• The Fierce Urgency Of Now on texts by Martin Luther King, UA Childs, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra 2005
• The Voices Of Angels, cantata, 2005