Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show


Welcome to Straight No Chaser, the Award-winning Podcast hosted by Jeffrey Siegel

Dec 1, 2020

There have been two hallmarks—standards, if you will—that have been a part of every Billy Childs album. The first is the journey he’s traveled as a composer. He has always written music and to great acclaim: he has received five Grammy Awards and 16 nominations, many for composition and arrangement. Presently in continual demand for symphonic and chamber commissions, he has also innovated a collection of compositions for jazz instrumentation and strings that is unique in the American music lexicon: a genre he refers to as jazz/chamber music.

But for the second hallmark, Childs has always been a player, too—having cultivated his jazz voice in the working bands of trombonist J.J. Johnson and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. He’s behind the piano on Acceptance, his latest release on Mack Avenue Records. Childs thrives on group improvisation and has recruited fellow master musicians—saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Eric Harland—as the core ensemble for this collection.

Acceptance reflects many aspects of Childs’ life and career. From hearing Brazilian jazz in his parent’s house comes “Dori,” his tribute to  Brazilian composer Dori Caymmi. His days hanging out in LA led to “Leimert Park,” which he composed with bassist Paul Jackson and drummer Mike Clark, the innovative and groundbreaking rhythm section on Herbie Hancock’s Thrust in the early 70s.

A Langston Hughes poem inspired “Quiet Girl,” which Childs recorded on his first album, Take For Example This….on the Windham Hill label and recasts now. Regrettably, Childs’ four recordings on that label are out of print and not easily accessible.

Podcast 779 is my conversation with Mr. Childs, as we explore the Acceptance album and get his take on the jazz scene in his native Los Angeles during these COVID days and nights as well as learn about his formative musical experiences (Hint – you might not believe one of them!). Musical selections include the title track from Acceptance and "Do You Know My Name," featuring a haunting vocal by Alicia Olatuja.