Grammy® Winning Composer/Pianist Billy Childs Recipient Of Prestigious 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship

April 28, 2009 - PRLog -- "For the last ten years I’ve been developing – through performance, rehearsal, and recording – my jazz-chamber ensemble.  The term “Jazz-Chamber” is a term which best describes the intent of my group because it has, as its central concept, the symbiotic synthesis of America’s classical music, jazz, and European classical chamber music.  It is my goal to compose a multi-movement suite for the Billy Childs Jazz-Chamber Ensemble and the Ying String Quartet, to be recorded this year and performed on tour in venues across the United States throughout the 09-10 seasons. This composition will represent an important step in my journey toward creating music that makes an artistic statement through the prism of jazz and European chamber music: Jazz-Chamber music."  Billy Childs

                                                                 
Having won two GRAMMY awards in 2006, (Best Instrumental Composition and Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist) and having been nominated for eight, this latest achievement for Billy Childs is yet another significant milestone in a career that has spanned over three decades.  As the recipient of the 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, which he will officially receive in New York May 6, Childs joins the ranks of a diverse group of esteemed fellows including Ansel Adams, Aaron Copeland, Martha Graham and Henry Kissinger, to name a few.  180 fellowships are granted each year out of almost 3,000 applicants and are appointed on the basis of stellar achievement and exceptional promise for continued accomplishment.

Childs’ “exceptional promise for continued accomplishment” continues with the follow-up recording, "Jazz Chamber Music Volume 2," to his award-winning "Jazz Chamber Music Volume 1-- Lyric”.   He will begin recording following a performance with his ensemble at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, May 21 – 24, where he will preview this new work.   This will also mark one of the final performances at the Jazz Bakery, one of L.A.’s most prestigious jazz institutions which will officially close its doors at the Culver City location on May 31. Joining Childs for this appearance are many of the musicians who will be performing on the recording, including:  Antonio Sanchez on drums, Scott Colley on bass, Bob Sheppard on reeds, Carol Robbins on harp and a special appearance by the Grammy Award winning classical Ying String Quartet.  "Jazz Chamber Music Volume 2" is scheduled for release in the fall of 2009 on ArtistShare, the innovative label which allows fans to participate in the creative process of the artist.

Billy Childs was born in Los Angeles and developed an aptitude for piano as early as age six.  At sixteen he entered the Community School of the Performing Arts, a preparatory music program by the University of Southern California, then USC as a composition major in 1975, graduating four years later with a bachelor of music in composition under the tutelage of Robert Linn.  As a solo artist, Childs has released 9 CDs.  He made his recording debut in J.J. Johnson’s band and has toured and/or recorded with artists ranging from Freddie Hubbard, Dianne Reeves and Grover Washington, to most recently Sting, Yo-Yo Ma, Jack DeJohnette, the Ying String Quartet, the American Brass Quintet and Chris Botti.  His numerous and celebrated commissioned works throughout the U.S. range from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, to the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.  In addition to the recording of "Jazz Chamber Music Volume 2," upcoming is a violin concerto for Regina Carter and the Detroit Symphony, a woodwind quintet for the Imani Wind Quintet, a new piece for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and a string quartet for Pacific Serenades.

THE BILLY CHILDS ENSEMBLE APPEARS AT THE JAZZ BAKERY
MAY 21 – 24
3233 Helms Ave., Culver City, CA
Showtimes are:  8 PM and 9:30 P.M
Tickets are Thurs./Fri./Sun. - $30 – Sat. $35.
Telephone for reservations:  310-271-9039