Grammy-laden keyboardist Billy Childs could play a genre for every night of the week, and tonight it’s contemporary/fusion with windman Bob Sheppard Sax/flute, Electric bassist Jimmy Johnson and drummer Joey Heredia.
Billy Childs was born in Los Angeles on March 8th, 1957. Having demonstrated an aptitude for piano as early as age six, Childs developed rapidly, and at age sixteen entered the USC-sponsored Community School of the Performing Arts, studying theory with Marienne Uszler and piano with John Weisenfluh. In 1975, he entered USC as a composition major, graduating four years later with a bachelor of music in composition under the tutelage of Robert Linn.
Since then Mr. Childs has received a number of orchestral commissions from, among others: Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Kronos Quartet, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the American Brass Quintet, and the Dorian Wind Quintet.
After apprenticing with Freddie Hubbard and J.J. Johnson in the late seventies and early eighties, Childs’ solo jazz recording career began in 1988, when he released Take For Example, This… the first of four critically acclaimed albums on the Windham Hill Jazz label. He followed that album with Twilight Is Upon Us (1989), His April Touch (1992), and Portrait Of A Player (1993). His next album, I’ve Known Rivers on Stretch/GRP (now Stretch/Concord) was released in 1995, followed by The Child Within, released on the Shanachie record label in 1996. Most recently, Mr. Childs has recorded two volumes of jazz/chamber music – Lyric, Vol. 1 (2006) and Autumn: In Moving Pictures, Vol. 2 (2010) – music which is an amalgam of jazz and classical elements, developed with his ensemble through rehearsal, performance, and recording, over the course of ten years.
Thus far, in his career, Childs has garnered ten Grammy nominations and three Grammy awards: two for best instrumental composition (Into the Light from Lyric and The Path Among The Trees from Autumn: In Moving Pictures) and one for best arrangement accompanying a vocalist. In 2009, Childs was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and in 2006 was awarded a Chamber Music America composer’s grant.
As a pianist Childs has recently performed with, among others, Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, the Kronos Quartet, Wynton Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette, Ron Carter, the Ying String Quartet, the American Brass Quintet, and Chris Botti. In January 2010, The Detroit Symphony (Leonard Slatkin conducting) premiered Childs’ Concerto For Violin And Orchestra with Regina Carter as soloist. Upcoming commissions include a new piece for the Ying Quartet and another new work for the Kronos String Quartet.
Bob Sheppard
“A household name for saxophonists worldwide, Bob Sheppard has done it all. Superstar names such as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Perter Erskine, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder and many, many, many legends pack his world-class resume. Splitting his time between Los Angeles, and New York, Bob’s forged working relationships with the best musicians on both coasts.”
Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy has been playing professionally since 1969. Here is a partial list of artists and groups he has appeared with: John Abercrombie, Billy Childs, Luis Conte, Brandon Fields, Flim & The BB’s, Allan Holdsworth, the Wayne Johnson Trio, Karizma, Los Lobotomys, Henry Mancini, Sergio Mendes, Lee Ritenour, MichaelRuff, James Taylor, Sadao Watanabe.
Joey Heredia
Joey Heredia is a remarkable drummer who blends a multitude of styles, impeccable timing, and unbelievable skill to achieve a unique level of playing making him one of the best in the business. His credits include luminaries like Stevie Wonder, Sheila E, Sergio Mendez, Herb Alpert, Tania Maria, Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, and Dianne Reeves. It’s not surprising that Joey became a musician. His mother was a famous singer throughout Mexico, Central and South America in the 1940′s and 1950′s, and his father, a drummer, was a session player in Los Angeles. Although this appears the perfect recipe for creating a great musician, it wasn’t. Joey’s mother retired when he was born, and when Joey was only 4 his father had a stroke ending his father’s drumming. Growing up in East Los Angeles was definitely rough, and his mother was extremely cautious of Joey’s desire to become a musician. She knew exactly how tough the business was and wasn’t sure about her son following that path.
Joey was persistent, and they struck a bargain. He could follow his musical path – if he kept his grades up. On his 16th birthday Joe’s tenacity paid off and his parents relented and finally bought his a Slingerland drumset. He immediately began practicing to Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago, and Tower of Power records.
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