Billy Childs Trio plus special guest Michael Rodriguez

“One of the most critically acclaimed pianists in modern jazz” – All About Jazz

Renowned pianist and composer Billy Childs and his trio with bassist Matt Penman and drummer Ari Hoenig feature special guest trumpeter Michael Rodriguez.

A native of Los Angeles, Childs grew up immersed in jazz, classical, and popular music influences, which he blends in a powerful and personal compositional and performing voice. A child prodigy who started performing at age six and studying at USC at 16, he was “discovered” by trumpet legend Freddie Hubbard, with whom he embarked on a successful performing and recording tour.

He also recorded and performed with a number of other influential jazz musicians, including J.J. Johnson, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Jack DeJohnette, and Dave Holland, among many others, and with such varied artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Sting, Renee Fleming, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Kronos Quartet.

Downbeat reports, “The same creative spirit that’s propelled him from the bands of bop giants as a twenty-something side-player to a composer renowned throughout concert halls and across jazz festival stages remains unhampered.” The Los Angeles Times adds, “As a pianist, he possesses the improvisatory skills and powerful sense of swing one associates with world-class artists… Childs is an inventive composer and arranger whose effort in those areas consistently expand the dimensions of the jazz genre - and beyond.”