Jazz Articles about Billy Childs
About Billy Childs
Instrument: Piano
Article Coverage | Calendar | Albums | Photos | Similar ArtistsBilly Childs: L.A. Contentment
by R.J. DeLuke
Billy Childs says taking formal piano lessons as a young child “didn't register" at the time. He didn't recoil from the instrument by any means, but it wasn't yet exciting. But he had a neighbor who also played. Childs looked up to him. It was that neighbor who showed him stuff--taught him to play “ Cantaloupe Island" and other things. “I consider those my first real piano lessons, actually," says Childs from his jny: Los Angeles home. Good ...
read moreBilly Childs: Rebirth
by Dan Bilawsky
It's been a while since we've heard pianist Billy Childs really dig in. While he certainly hasn't been dormant, reaching tremendous artistic heights in semi-recent times with a pair of highly refined chamber jazz explorations and a much-lauded tribute to Laura Nyro, the Childs of yore--the man that would throw down the gauntlet night after night while in the employ of legends like trumpet titan Freddie Hubbard or trombonist J.J. Johnson--hasn't been heard from in a while. Rebirth brings that ...
read moreBilly Childs: Map To The Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro
by Dan Bilawsky
The latter day jazz community, by and large, has embraced songwriting icons from the other side of the fence. Numerous artists associated with jazz have visited in on Bob Dylan's iconic work, explored the dark soul of Tom Waits, reshaped the poetic work(s) of Leonard Cohen, and/or tapped into the Joni Mitchell well. But what of Laura Nyro? The woman behind such under-appreciated classics as “Stoned Soul Picnic," “And When I Die," “Eli's Comin,'" and “Wedding Bell Blues" has largely ...
read moreBilly Childs: Pushing Past Preconceptions
by George Colligan
[ Editor's Note: The following interview is reprinted from George Colligan's blog, Jazztruth]Billy Childs is simply one of the baddest musicians on the planet. He's a brilliant jazz pianist, having received much acclaim as a sideman with legends as well as from being a bandleader. His Windham Hill recordings--Take For Example, This....., His April Touch and Portrait Of A Player--were a big influence on my musical tendencies.Childs has been busy for the past two decades as ...
read moreBilly Childs: The Perfect Picture
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
There is a somewhat-still-virgin musical territory that rests its innocent heart where classical music ends and jazz commences. Many have beautifully tiptoed on its smooth surface before, mixing, experimenting, creating and even challenging its balance with both improvised and organized notes. Music is in constant evolution, and jazz has always, in one way or another, embraced those who take each step a little further ahead every time. Taking risks makes the magic worthwhile, and the experience always promises to be ...
read moreBilly Childs at the Douglas Beach House
by Bill Leikam
Billy Childs Jazz Chamber EnsembleDouglas Beach HouseHalf Moon Bay, CAMay 2, 2010 The packed Douglas Beach House was a testament to the Billy Childs Jazz Chamber Ensemble's reputation, and moreover the performance confirmed that he and the band were well within the groove despite the group's not playing together for the preceding eight months. Childs brought with him what proprietor Pete Douglas called a band with a scary depth of talent. This afternoon on ...
read moreBilly Childs: Lyric
by John Dworkin
Billy Childs' new recording Lyric: Jazz-Chamber Music Vol. 1 may seem a radical new direction from his previously recorded output as a jazz pianist/leader. But, somewhat under the public's marketing radar, for the last six years or so Childs has been spending much of his energy on larger scale composition, arranging, and orchestrations. While still a great pianist, his writing and conception of style/genre is possibly in the forefront of his modus operandi, and has seemingly come to a head ...
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