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Artist: Billy Childs

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Billy Childs:

Map To The Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro

Composer/Arranger/Pianist Billy Childs leads an all-star interpretation of songwriter Laura Nyro's beloved works: guests include Renee Fleming, Esperanza Spalding, Yo-Yo Ma, Alison Krauss, Ledisi and Wayne Shorter

When the Grammy-winning musician Billy Childs was 11 years old, his older sisters introduced him to the work of Hall Of Fame singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. Her blend of Broadway-inspired melodies, jazz improvisation and socially conscious lyrics have stayed with him.Now he has returned to this early source of inspiration, conceiving and orchestrating Map To The Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro, to be released by Masterworks on September 9, 2014.

"I related to her more than the other singer-songwriters of that era because the piano was the engine that was driving a lot of her music," Childssaid. "It was easy for me to escape into the world of the music because of its theatricality. The way she used silence, dynamics, going from extreme changes from very loud to very soft or vice versa-or heavily orchestrated to minimal. All of these were used to tell whatever story she was telling. Also, her words were not literal, more metaphorical and allegorical, so you could imagine what she was talking about and made it easier for me to conjure up images in my mind."

Childs is not alone in his enthusiasm. An incredible range of musicians are on board to interpret Nyro's narratives. Classical soprano Renée Fleming and cellist Yo-Yo Ma add new meaning to her hometown ode, "New York Tendaberry." Jazz stars Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter collaborate on Nyro's pictorial "Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp." R&B chanteuse Ledisi updates the hit "Stoned Soul Picnic." Other prominent voices include Alison Krauss, Rickie Lee Jones, Shawn Colvin, Dianne Reeves, Susan Tedeschi, Lisa Fischer, and Becca Stevens, with featured instrumental soloists Chris Botti, Jerry Douglas, Chris Potter, and Steve Wilson also on board.