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Billy Childs goes back to his roots on latest album The Winds of Change

By Adam Feibel 2023/02/17

Billy Childs

Credit:Raj Naik

Billy Childs has announced his latest album The Winds of Change.

In his third release with Mack Avenue, the Grammy-winning pianist, composer and arranger is joined by an all-star quartet consisting of trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade.

“I have been doing all of these lofty projects, chamber things, symphonic things… I wanted to just get back to being a jazz pianist,” Childs says. “Fortunately, these extraordinary musicians find my music interesting enough that they want to be a part of it.”

Listen to the lead single “The End of Innocence”:

The album includes five new original compositions along with unique arrangements of Chick Corea’s “Crystal Silence” and Kenny Barron’s “The Black Angel.”

The music was inspired by film noir; great film composers like Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann and John Williams; and nostalgia for the Los Angeles of Childs’ youth.

Here’s the track listing:

The Great Western Loop
The Winds of Change
The End of Innocence
Master of the Game
Crystal Silence
The Black Angel
I Thought I Knew

Billy Childs’ The Winds of Change is out March 17, 2023, via Mack Avenue.