William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States.

Early life

When he was 16, Childs attended the Community School of the Performing Arts sponsored by the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. 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. 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 Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, documented as "the Yokohama Concert". Childs gained significant attention during the six years (1978–84) he spent in trumpeter

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

's group. His early influences as a pianist included

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 194411 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He be ...

, and

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

, and as a composer,

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

. His sister is the playwright Kirsten Childs.

Solo albums

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).

asked Childs to join his label,

Stretch Records Stretch Records is an American record company and label that was established in 1997 by Chick Corea and music industry veteran Ron Moss. The label claims to promote "music with no boundaries", although it has mostly released jazz music. Corea was ...

. 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 Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey–based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word '' seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distr ...

in 1996.

Arranging

In 2000, Childs arranged, orchestrated and conducted

Dianne Reeves Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer, who has won five Grammy Awards for her albums. Early life and education Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mothe ...

's project '' The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan'', which won the

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

. Other artists and producers for whom Childs has arranged include

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album Impressions ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...

Phil Ramone Philip Rabinowitz (January 5, 1934March 30, 2013), better known as Phil Ramone, was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, and co-founder of A & R recording studio. Its success led to expansion ...

, and

Claudia Acuña Claudia Acuña (July 31, 1971, Santiago) is a Chilean jazz vocalist, songwriter, and arranger. Biography Born July 3 1971 in Santiago and raised in Concepcion, she was inspired as a child to perform a variety of music, including folk, pop and op ...

Jazz chamber ensemble

In 2001, Childs formed a

chamber jazz Chamber jazz is a genre of jazz involving small, acoustic-based ensembles where group interplay is important. It is influenced aesthetically by the small ensembles of chamber music in musical neoclassicism and is often influenced by classical fo ...

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 Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter and singer. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968) and ''Ne ...

's collaborations with

Alice Coltrane Alice Lucille Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda () or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader. An accomplished pianist and one o ...

(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 2006 Grammy awards: Best Jazz Instrumental Album,

Best Instrumental Composition The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (including its previous names) has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of an original piece of music (not an adaptation), first released during the eligibility year. I ...

, and Best Arrangement, winning for best instrumental composition, "Into the Light".

Awards and honors

* 2003: New Composition Grant, Chamber Music America * 2006:

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (including its previous names) has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of an original piece of music (not an adaptation), first released during the eligibility year. I ...

, "Into the Light" * 2006 Grammy Award, Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist, "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?" * 2009: Guggenheim Fellowship * 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 The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as t ...

, "New York Tendaberry" * 2018:

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that was first presented in 1959. History From 1959 to 2011, the Award was called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group. In 2012, it was shortened to Best Jazz Instrumental ...

, ''

Rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * '' ...

''; Childs' solo on the track "Dance of Shiva" was also nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

. * 2018: Outstanding Alumnus, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music * 2024:

, ''

The Winds of Change ''The Winds of Change'' is an album by Billy Childs. It earned him a Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize o ...

Classical commissions

* 1993:

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

, "Tone Poem for Holly" (

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish conducting, conductor and composer. He is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Sw ...

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" (

vocal soloist, Billy Childs piano soloist) * 2005:

Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional Choir, chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one ...

, "The Voices of Angels" ( Grant Gershon conductor) * 2007:

American Brass Quintet The American Brass Quintet is an American brass quintet founded in 1960. Unlike conventional brass quintets, the bass voice is provided by a bass trombone rather than a tuba. The Quintet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at the Aspen Music Fes ...

, "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 The Ying Quartet is an American string quartet. The Ying siblings, from Winnetka, Illinois,Allan KozinnMusic in Review ''New York Times'' May 21, 1991R. M. Campbell," ''Seattle PI,'' Nov 10 2008 formed the quartet in 1988 while studying at the U ...

) * 2009: Pacific Serenades, "String Quartet No. 1" * 2010:

Detroit Symphony The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music ...

, "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" (

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

, soloist) * 2012:

, "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)

Jazz commissions

* 1992: Grenoble Jazz Festival, "Chamber Orchestra Music" (

Steve Houghton Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation), se ...

soloist) * 1994:

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

, "Concerto Piano and JazzChamber Orchestra" (Billy Childs soloist) * 1997: Mancini Institute, "The Winds of Change" (

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved critical acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

soloist) * 2001: Kuumbwa Jazz Center "Into the Light" (Billy Childs JazzChamber Ensemble) * 2004:

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (also known as the JLCO) is an American big band and jazz orchestra led by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. The orchestra is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a performing arts organization in New York City. History ...

, "The Fierce Urgency of Now" (

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

musical director) * 2010:

, "Music for Two Quartets" (

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

with Billy Childs,

Brian Blade Brian Blade (born July 25, 1970) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and session musician. Early life Born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Blade was exposed to gospel and praise music while attending Zion Baptist Church at which his ...

Scott Colley Scott Colley (born November 24, 1963) is an American jazz double bassist and composer. As of 2024, he had been nominated for 4 Grammy Awards, including Best Jazz Instrumental Album for '' Guided Tour'' in 2014 and '' Still Dreaming'' in 2019. Duri ...

, and Steve Wilson)

Discography

As leader

Main source:

As sideman

With

* ''

When I Fall In Love "When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in Howard Hughes' last film '' One Minute to Zero'' as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southe ...

'' ( Columbia, 2004) With

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song " You'll Never Find Another Love like Min ...

* ''Seasons 4 U'' (Rawls & Brokaw, 1998) With

Bunky Green Vernice "Bunky" Green Jr (April 23, 1933 – March 1, 2025) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator. Life and career Green was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he played the alto saxophone, mainly at a local club called "The Br ...

* '' Healing the Pain'' (Delos, 1990) With J. J. Johnson and

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It ...

* '' The Yokohama Concert'' (Pablo Live, 1978) * ''

Concepts in Blue ''Concepts in Blue'' is an album by jazz trombonist J. J. Johnson, recorded in 1980 for the Pablo Today label and originally released as a CD in 2002.Lord, T.Clark Terry discography accessed July 20, 2016 Reception The AllMusic review by Scot ...

'' (Pablo Today, 1981) * '' Chain Reaction: Yokohama Concert, Vol. 2'' (Pablo, 2002) – rec. 1977 With Bunny Brunel * '' For you to play'' ( Nikaia Records, 1994)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Billy 1957 births Living people 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists African-American composers African-American jazz musicians African-American jazz pianists African-American male composers Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) alumni American male jazz pianists ArtistShare artists Grammy Award winners Jazz musicians from Los Angeles Mack Avenue Records artists Shanachie Records artists USC Thornton School of Music alumni Windham Hill Records artists