Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, Florida State University Westcott Building – Tallahassee, FL – 02/09/16

Billy Childs' Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro
featuring Becca Stevens and Alicia Olatuja

Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer Billy Childs pays homage to the great singer-songwriter Laura Nyro and her innovative songbook of joyous, Brill Building jazz-pop.

Childs grew up in Los Angeles in a home with two older sisters. One turned him on to jazz; the other turned him on to Laura Nyro, the singer-songwriter whose early albums became part of the soundtrack to his boyhood. Now, having been inspired by her songs for decades, he presents a concert based on Nyro’s expansive music catalogue.

What a soundtrack Nyro created! She was among the most brilliant composers and singers of the 1960s and ’70s, penning such tunes as Wedding Bell Blues, Stoney End, And When I Die, Sweet Blindness, Eli’s Coming, Stoned Soul Picnic, and Save the Country.

“[Programs] like this gem from pianist/composer Billy Childs manages to capture and even deepen the mystery of Laura Nyro’s song-writing. – The Village Voice