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Billy White

William “Billy” White is a pianist, composer, producer, ethnomusicologist and music scientist living in Brooklyn, New York.

The 28-year-old pianist grew up in the rich stew of San Francisco's music scene in the 80's and 90's. After receiving a few years of classical education, he began studying jazz with teachers as Jim Rowsey, Wayne Wallace, Rebecca Mauleon, Gordon Fels, and Marc Levine, in addition to leading his own groups by the age of fifteen.

Winning a number of music scholarships, he attended UCLA, and studied with the legendary guitarist Kenny Burrell, the pianist Tom Ranier, and the arranger Gerald Wilson. He also solidified held down the piano chair in Bobby Rodriguez’ Latin big band, contributing his own original arrangements and compositions, as well as Llew Mathew's big band.

But from this time forward, White realized that jazz was not the only kind of music he wanted to play. Taking advantage of UCLA's incomparable Ethnomusicology program, White’s perspective was broadened to include not only jazz, but a wide variety of world music including Indonesian Gamelan, Indian Classical music, Chinese music, Japanese gagaku, Ghanaian drumming, African pop styles, Balkan folk music, and Brazilian music. As part of a construction team building a school in a remote rural village in 2001, he took part in Ewe drumming and made field recordings of “bologo” music, his first fieldwork.

His appetite for travel now whetted, he also studied abroad in Paris in 2003, dropping out of school to live and play there. While there, he met and joined the French hip-hop group Heezbus, many of whose members, including the rapper Spleen and the vocalist Hugh Coltman, are currently signed to Universal France..

Returning to Los Angeles to finish school, White began to study production and composition on his own, searching for a way to combine and express the diverse musical experiences in his life. In addition, White joined and was musical director for BOKU, a hip-hop group fronted by rapper Jo D Jonz which achieved quick success, selling out the House of Blues and Viper room in Los Angeles only months after their formation. Their acclaimed live disc, “Boku: Fully Loaded” is available on iTunes.

Ultimately, his traveler’s spirit, and desire to live in what he considered to be the center of the musical world, took him to New York. He formed the electro-jazz group Nobody with bassist Mark Sposato and drummer Jim St.-Amour, played in many diverse musical situations with musicians like Bilal, Tony Cimorosi, Kenny Brooks, and Karen Rodriguez, but focused on leading his own groups and composing. He also began working as a music educator, private teacher, and accompanist for the Martha Graham School of Dance, as well as accompanying for Graham Company teachers, notably Whitney V. Hunter as faculty dance accompanist Long Island University.

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Album Review

Billy White: First Things First

Read "First Things First" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


First Things First is as apt a name for a debut album as anybody could come up with. While this marks pianist Billy White's first leader date, he already has plenty of impressive musical experience under his belt: spending his college years earning a degree in ethnomusicology from UCLA; working with a jazz/hip-hop hybrid group Heezbus, while living in Paris; studying Gnawa trance music in Morocco; and writing some music for films. Eventually, the San Francisco native landed in Brooklyn, ...

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Recording

Billy White releases debut album "First Things First" on Porto Franco records

Billy White releases debut album "First Things First" on Porto Franco records

Source: Billy White

Pianist Billy White's debut recording, First Things First, is a glimpse into a musically omnivorous world reminiscent of a young Herbie Hancock. The San Francisco-born and New York-based 27-year old has already packed a panoply of experience into his young career: a degree in ethnomusicology from UCLA, a stint with French jazz/hip-hoppers Heezbus while living in Paris, scoring films, and studying Gnawa trance music in Morocco, to name a few. But First Things First is his crowning achievement so far. ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

First Things First

Porto Franco Records
2010

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