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William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States.[1][2]
Billy Childs | |
|---|---|
 Childs, 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Edward Childs |
| Born | March 8, 1957 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Stretch Records |
When he was 16, Childs attended the Community School of the Performing Arts sponsored by the University of Southern California. He studied music theory with Marienne Uszler and piano with John Weisenfluh. From 1975 to 1979, Childs attended the University of Southern California and received a degree in composition under the tutelage of Robert Linn.[3]
While still a teen, Childs was playing professionally and he made his recording debut in 1977 with the J. J. Johnson Quintet during a tour of Japan, documented as "the Yokohama Concert". Childs gained significant attention during the six years (1978–84) he spent in trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's group. His early influences as a pianist included Herbie Hancock, Keith Emerson, and Chick Corea, and as a composer, Paul Hindemith, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky.
His sister is the playwright Kirsten Childs.[4][5]
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Childs's solo jazz recording career began in 1988, when he released Take for Example, This..., the first of four critically acclaimed albums on Windham Hill Jazz. He followed that album with Twilight Is Upon Us (1989), His April Touch (1992), and Portrait of a Player (1993). Chick Corea asked Childs to join his label, Stretch Records. Childs's next album, I've Known Rivers, appeared on Stretch/GRP (now Stretch/Concord) in 1995. This was followed by The Child Within on Shanachie Records in 1996.
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In 2000, Childs arranged, orchestrated and conducted Dianne Reeves's project The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan,[1] which won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Other artists and producers for whom Childs has arranged include Sting, Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Botti, Gladys Knight, Michael Bublé, David Foster, Phil Ramone, and Claudia Acuña.
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In 2001, Childs formed a chamber jazz group consisting of piano, bass, drums, acoustic guitar, harp, and woodwinds. Sometimes the core group is augmented by string quartet, woodwind quintet, or both. Childs was influenced by Laura Nyro's collaborations with Alice Coltrane (on Christmas and the Beads of Sweat) and by a desire to merge classical and jazz music.[6] In 2005, the ensemble released its first album, Lyric, Jazz-Chamber Music, Vol. 1, which was nominated for three 2006 Grammy awards: Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Arrangement, winning for best instrumental composition, "Into the Light".
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- 2024: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, "The Winds of Change"
- 2003: New Composition Grant, Chamber Music America
- 2006: Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition, "Into the Light"[7]
- 2006 Grammy Award, Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist, "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?"
- 2009: Guggenheim Fellowship[3]
- 2011: Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition, "The Path Among the Trees"
- 2013: Doris Duke Artist Award
- 2015: American Academy of Arts and Letters Composer Award
- 2015: Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals, "New York Tendaberry"
- 2018: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Rebirth; Childs' solo on the track "Dance of Shiva" was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo.
- 2018: Outstanding Alumnus, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music
- 2024: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, The Winds of Change
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- 1993: Los Angeles Philharmonic, "Tone Poem for Holly" (Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor)
- 1994: Los Angeles Philharmonic, "Fanfare for the United Races of America" (EsaPekka Salonen conductor)
- 1995: Akron Symphony Orchestra, "The Distant Land" (Alan Balter conductor)
- 1997: Akron Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, "Just Like Job" (Alan Balter conductor)
- 1997: Dorian Wind Quintet, "A Day in the Forest of Dreams" (Billy Childs piano, with Dorian Wind Quintet)
- 2004: Los Angeles Philharmonic, "For Suzanne" (Dianne Reeves vocal soloist, Billy Childs piano soloist)
- 2005: Los Angeles Master Chorale, "The Voices of Angels" (Grant Gershon conductor)
- 2007: American Brass Quintet, "2 Elements" (Billy Childs piano, with American Brass Quintet)
- 2007: Fontana Chamber Arts, "The Path Among the Trees" (Billy Childs JazzChamber Ensemble with Ying Quartet)
- 2009: Pacific Serenades, "String Quartet No. 1"[8]
- 2010: Detroit Symphony, "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" (Regina Carter, soloist)
- 2012: Ying Quartet, "Awakening String Quartet No. 2" (The Ying Quartet)
- 2022: Young Concert Artists (and a consortium of nine orchestras), "Diaspora: Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra" (Steven Banks, soloist)[9]
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- 1992: Grenoble Jazz Festival, "Chamber Orchestra Music" (Steve Houghton soloist)
- 1994: Monterey Jazz Festival, "Concerto Piano and JazzChamber Orchestra" (Billy Childs soloist)
- 1997: Mancini Institute, "The Winds of Change" (Roy Hargrove soloist)
- 2001: Kuumbwa Jazz Center "Into the Light" (Billy Childs JazzChamber Ensemble)
- 2004: Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, "The Fierce Urgency of Now" (Wynton Marsalis musical director)
- 2010: Monterey Jazz Festival, "Music for Two Quartets" (Kronos Quartet with Billy Childs, Brian Blade, Scott Colley, and Steve Wilson)
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As leader
| Title | Label | Year released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midland | Lunacy Records | 1985 | |
| Take for Example This... | Windham Hill | 1988 | |
| Twilight Is Upon Us | Windham Hill | 1989 | Top Jazz Albums 11[7] |
| His April Touch | Windham Hill | 1991 | |
| Portrait of a Player | Windham Hill | 1993 | Top Jazz Albums 12[7] |
| I've Known Rivers | Stretch | 1995 | |
| The Child Within | Shanachie | 1996 | |
| Skim Coat | Metropolitan | 1999 | |
| Bedtime Stories | 32 Jazz | 2000 | |
| Lyric: Jazz Chamber Music Vol. 1 | Lunacy Music | 2005 | Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (Into the Light) |
| Autumn: In Moving Pictures (Jazz Chamber Music Vol. 2) | Lunacy Music | 2009 | Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (The Path Among the Trees) |
| Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro | Sony Masterworks | 2014 | Top Jazz Albums 1, The Billboard 200 104[7] |
| Rebirth | Mack Avenue | 2017 | Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album |
| Acceptance | Mack Avenue | 2020 | |
| The Winds of Change | Mack Avenue | 2023 | Quartet, with Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Scott Colley (bass), Brian Blade (drums) |
Main source:[10]
As sideman
With Chris Botti
- When I Fall In Love (Columbia, 2004)
With Lou Rawls
With Bunky Green
- Healing the Pain (Delos, 1990)
With J. J. Johnson and Nat Adderley
- The Yokohama Concert (Pablo Live, 1978)
- Concepts in Blue (Pablo Today, 1981)
- Chain Reaction: Yokohama Concert, Vol. 2 (Pablo, 2002) – rec. 1977
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