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Billy Childs
William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger, and conductor from Los Angeles, California.
Childs's In the Arms of the Beloved was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
When he was 16, Childs attended the Community School of the Performing Arts sponsored by the University of Southern California (USC). He studied music theory with Marienne Uszler and piano with John Weisenfluh. From 1975 to 1979, Childs attended USC and earned a degree in composition under the tutelage of Robert Linn.
While still a teenager, Childs was playing professionally. 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. As a composer he is influenced by Paul Hindemith, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky.
Childs's sister is the playwright Kirsten Childs.
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 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 Records/Concord Records) in 1995. The Child Within on Shanachie Records was released in 1996.
In 2000, Childs arranged, orchestrated, and conducted Dianne Reeves's project The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan, which won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Other artists and producers for whom he has arranged include Sting, Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Botti, Gladys Knight, Michael Bublé, David Foster, Phil Ramone, and Claudia Acuña.
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. In 2005, the ensemble released its first album, Lyric, Jazz-Chamber Music, Vol. 1, which was nominated for three Grammy awards: Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Arrangement, and won best instrumental composition for "Into the Light".
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Billy Childs
William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger, and conductor from Los Angeles, California.
Childs's In the Arms of the Beloved was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
When he was 16, Childs attended the Community School of the Performing Arts sponsored by the University of Southern California (USC). He studied music theory with Marienne Uszler and piano with John Weisenfluh. From 1975 to 1979, Childs attended USC and earned a degree in composition under the tutelage of Robert Linn.
While still a teenager, Childs was playing professionally. 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. As a composer he is influenced by Paul Hindemith, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky.
Childs's sister is the playwright Kirsten Childs.
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 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 Records/Concord Records) in 1995. The Child Within on Shanachie Records was released in 1996.
In 2000, Childs arranged, orchestrated, and conducted Dianne Reeves's project The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan, which won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Other artists and producers for whom he has arranged include Sting, Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Botti, Gladys Knight, Michael Bublé, David Foster, Phil Ramone, and Claudia Acuña.
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. In 2005, the ensemble released its first album, Lyric, Jazz-Chamber Music, Vol. 1, which was nominated for three Grammy awards: Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Arrangement, and won best instrumental composition for "Into the Light".
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