Los Angeles, CA – September 15, 2021 – Angel City Arts enters the third week of their 14th Annual Angel City Jazz Festival with Billy Childs Jazz Chamber Ensemble featuring special guest Dianne Reeves Thursday, October 14 at The Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd E, Los Angeles, CA 90068 at 8 pm. Info and tickets are available at https://angelcityjazz.com/event/jazzchamber/.
Billy Childs has emerged as one of the foremost American composers of his era, perhaps the most distinctly American composer since Aaron Copland – for like Copland, he has successfully married the musical products of his heritage with the Western neoclassical traditions of the twentieth century in a powerful symbiosis of style, range, and dynamism. A native of Los Angeles, Childs grew up immersed in jazz, classical, and popular music influences. By the time of his graduation from USC, Childs was already an in-demand performer in the LA jazz scene, soon thereafter he was discovered by trumpet legend Freddie Hubbard. He recorded and performed with a number of other influential jazz musicians including J.J. Johnson, Joe Henderson, and Wynton Marsalis. Thus far in his career, Childs has garnered thirteen GRAMMY nominations and four awards. In 2006, Childs was awarded a Chamber Music America Composer’s Grant, and in 2009 was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was also awarded the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award in 2013, and most recently, the music award from The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2015. https://billychilds.com
Five-time Grammy winner Dianne Reeves is the pre-eminent jazz vocalist in the world. As a result of her breathtaking virtuosity, improvisational prowess, and unique jazz and R&B stylings, Reeves received the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings – a Grammy first in any vocal category. Featured in George Clooney’s six-time Academy Award nominated Good Night, and Good Luck, Reeves won the Best Jazz Vocal Grammy for the film’s soundtrack. Reeves has recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. She has also recorded with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim and was a featured soloist with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. Reeves was the first Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the first vocalist to ever perform at the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall. https://diannereeves.com
Child’s Jazz Chamber Ensemble players are Larry Koonse on guitar, Carol Robbins on harp, Daniel Rotem on sax, Dan Chmielinski on bass, Christian Euman on drums, and Sara Andon on flute. They will be joined by Reeves along with Moira Smiley on vocals and Alexander Gedeon presenting a poetry recitation. They will also be accompanied on some numbers by The Lyris Quartet, a string quartet that focuses on the music of living Los Angeles composers. Its members are Alyssa Park and Shalini Vijayan on violin, Luke Maurer on viola, and Timothy Loo on cello.
For more information on the Angel City Jazz Festival and to purchase event tickets please visit http://www.angelcityjazz.com/. For the Angel City Jazz Festival COVID safety policy, please see https://angelcityjazz.com/safety-policy/.