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Billy Childs Quartet at the Newman Center

Courtesy Joyce Anderson
Newman Center
Denver, CO
February 1, 2025
Billy Childs is equally at home in both the jazz and classical worlds. He has worked with prestigious ensembles such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and served as president of Chamber Music America, among other prominent classical music affiliations. Bridging his passions for both classical and jazz, he recorded two albums of jazz/chamber musicLyric, Vol. 1 (Lunacy Music, 2006) and Autumn: In Moving Pictures, Vol. 2 (Artist Share, 2009), both of which feature Grammy-winning compositions. Saturday night in Denver, he and his quartet fully embraced jazz, though with a sophisticated, serious touch.
In 2023, Childs released The Winds of Change (Mack Avenue, 2023), which won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz Album the following yearone of six Grammy wins and 17 nominations he has garnered to date. Not surprisingly, over half of Saturday's program was drawn from that album, including "Great Western Loop," which served as the opener Saturday evening.
With his impressive accolades and established career, Childs now attracts top-tier talent for his tours. He spoke with great admiration for his bandmates, calling them some of the best musicians anywhere, and their playing certainly lived up to the praise.
Lenard Simpson
saxophone, alto
Ambrose Akinmusire
trumpetb.1982
Drummer

Ari Hoenig
drumsb.1973

Matt Penman
bassChilds engaged with the audience between songs, introducing each piece and sharing anecdotes about their inspirations. For instance, he explained that "Great Western Loop" was inspired by a 7,000-mile hiking trail that spans from San Diego to Canada along the Pacific coast, then eastward, and then turning south through Colorado, and back to its beginning. He was quick to mention that while he had no intention of hiking the trail himself, he was impressed by those who attempted it.
He also reminisced about watching film noir with his mother, which inspired the dramatic shifts in mood found in songs like "Winds of Change." For his solo piece, "Easy Living," he mentioned the film Chinatown as one of his favorites, noting how the incidental music in the backgroundincluding the piece "Easy Living"had left a lasting impression on him. He confessed that while Faye Dunaway certainly caught his attention in the film, the moody, brooding music had done the same.
The final piece before the encore, Childs' original composition "Dance of Shiva," was one of the highlights of the evening. This frenetic tune seemed tailor-made for Hoenig to unleash his full energy on the drums. Yet, the entire band shifted into high gear, navigating complex changes and pushing the minor-key themes to a fever pitch.
Another standout was a cover of

Chick Corea
piano1941 - 2021
The encore featured "The End of Innocence," a Chiles composition from The Winds of Change that also featured a descending melodic figure similar to that in "Crystal Silence." This melody echoed throughout the piece, bringing the concert to a poignantly beautiful conclusion.
Set List; Great Western Loop; Winds of Change; Crystal Silence; Backward Bop; Master of the Game; Easy Living; Dance of Shiva; Encore: End of Innocence
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