Billy Childs Releases New Album 'Triumvirate'

(MPG) 6x GRAMMY-winning pianist and composer Billy Childs has released his new album Triumvirate on Mack Avenue Records. His first trio recording in 25 years, Triumvirate harnesses the energy and creative prowess of his touring group - bassist Matt Penman and drummer Ari Hoenig - into a masterclass of material revisited from his earliest recordings, within an intimate setting of equal parts lineage and evolution. Over the weekend, Childs spoke with NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday to share insight into the making of Triumvirate, including his single "One Fleeting Instant."

In preparing the setlist for Triumvirate, Childs reached back into his repertoire from some of his earliest recordings to find material ripe for revisiting. For this momentous occasion, he enlisted a pair of elite bandmates in Penman and Hoenig. A longtime member of the all-star SFJAZZ Collective, Penman has worked with such acclaimed names as John Scofield, Joe Lovano and Wayne Shorter, and co-founded the collective quartet James Farm with Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks and Eric Harland. Hoenig has played extensively with a variety of groups, including Chris Potter Underground and Kurt Rosenwinkel Group, and bands led by Wayne Krantz, Mike Stern, Richard Bona and Pat Martino.

While Childs hadn't officially recorded with either Penman or Hoenig in the past, they had formed the rhythm section for quartets with frontline players like Steve Wilson, Chris Potter and Sean Jones. During the course of those gigs, they would typically include a trio number in the set. Since the word was first coined in the days of ancient Rome, Triumvirate has indicated a group of three, all holding equal power and responsibility. Such is certainly the case for this incredibly adaptable trio, each member contributing an integral share and each able to steer the sound in any direction from moment to moment - all of which makes this album a long overdue and determinedly welcome return to the format for Childs.

Triumvirate is the anticipated follow-up to Childs' 2023 LP The Winds of Change, which took home the GRAMMY for Best Jazz Instrumental Album upon its release. An acclaimed and in-demand classical music composer, he has maintained an eminent reputation as an adept and deeply swinging jazz musician over his nearly 50-year career. Along the way, he has garnered six GRAMMY Awards and an astounding 17 nominations, while receiving commissions from such esteemed ensembles as the Kronos Quartet, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony, the Orpheus Orchestra, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and the American Brass Quintet. His works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and Disney Concert Hall. Stream the new album here

Later this month, Childs will bring his new music to cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

Triumvirate:
1. One Fleeting Instant
2. Carefree
3. Like Father Like Son
4. Heroes
5. Whisper Not
6. Ask Me Now
7. Lazy Afternoon
8. Flamenco Sketches

Tour Dates:
April 30 - San Francisco, CA - Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall *
May 5 - Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall +
May 13-17 - New York, NY - Smoke Jazz Club
May 19 - Washington, D.C. - Blues Alley
May 22 - Rockport, MA - Shalin Liu Center
May 23 - Old Lyme, CT - Side Door
May 29-30 - Los Angeles, CA - Catalina's
July 5 - Portsmouth, NH - Jimmy's Jazz & Blues Club

* RJAM Big Band featuring Billy Childs on piano
+ Billy Childs - piano, Dan Chmielinski - bass, Christian Euman - drums, along with strings from the LA Phil

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