![]() He really understands the emotional connection with each sound that he's producing. That's how he is with a drum set in terms of the sophistication and the multiple levels that he orchestrates on. You watch Brian and it is like watching somebody orchestrate on the drums. I reduced the orchestra part to the piano part and also had the rhythm section join in, with Scott and Brian, who are orchestral type players anyway, within the jazz context. I thought it would be a great song to do with Ambrose who has that same warmth in his sound, that same sound that invites the listener in, and kind of wraps itself around you. The rhythm section was Gary Novak, a great drummer, and the late Dave Carpenter, who was a great Los Angeles bass player. Yes, it was Jack Elliot and Mitch Glickman who organized it and they commissioned me to write a piece for orchestra and Roy Hargrove, which I did. I understand that the title track was actually written for Roy Hargrove and what is now the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra. His body of work is varied and convincing in every genre. Jerry Goldsmith did Chinatown and he did all sorts of stuff. Bernard Hermann did the amazing score for Taxi Driver. It evokes this mood and for me it's very nostalgic and very meaningful. Or the theme from Chinatown with the dry man-made lakes in Los Angeles with Jack Nicholson looking over and across it. In the case of Taxi Driver, you have this magical view of New York City that you can only achieve through film, with the smoke coming out of the manholes as he's driving, the lights flashing by. What about that sound resonates with you?īilly Childs: What resonates with me is when you hear themes like the theme from Chinatown. ![]() Lee Mergner: You cite the film noir genre as a major inspiration for your writing for this album. NOTE: Childs is performing at Dizzy's in NYC March 9-12. In Childs’ composing and piano playing on the album one can hear the influence of the Mount Rushmore of 70s jazz piano – Hancock, Corea, Tyner and Jarrett – but also his own very distinctive sound.įinding a rare quiet spot during The Jazz Cruise, we talked about the new album as well as some of his early inspirations, including one that would likely surprise many people. Inspired in part by the open playing on Kenny Wheeler’s 1976 ECM album Gnu High as well as by the music soundtracks of film noir, the purely acoustic recording has a modern yet timeless sound relying on melodies both simple and intricate, and rhythms that both float and groove. ![]() His latest album The Winds of Change, to be released March 17 on Mack Avenue, features an all-star group of Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums. He’s been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Over the years, he’s received 13 Grammy nominations and five awards. In addition, Childs has been commissioned to write pieces for both orchestras and chamber ensembles, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Kronos Quartet, the Dorian Wind Quintet and others. He would go on to record ten more albums for Stretch Shanachie, 32 Jazz, Lunacy, Sony and, most recently, Mack Avenue. Signed to Windham Hill Records in 1988, the virtuosic pianist released four critically acclaimed albums for that label. And, as he explained in our conversation aboard The Jazz Cruise earlier this year, he was also immersed in the pop music of the day, something he was later able to showcase with his Map to the Treasure album celebrating the music of singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. Johnson and Freddie Hubbard before he was legally allowed to drink. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Childs was a child prodigy who was formally trained in classical music, but who was playing on the bandstand with the likes of J.J. Pianist and composer Billy Childs is one of the few musicians who straddle the worlds of jazz and classical music, and still maintain serious cred in both genres.
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