BILLY WHITE, FIRST THINGS FIRST

Billy White is a pianist, keyboardist, composer, producer, electronic musician and songwriter living in New York City.  Born in San Francisco, he graduated attended UCLA's jazz studies program, where he studied under Kenny Burrell and earned a B.A. in Ethnomusicology.  He has won numerous awards and scholarships, including the David A. Abell Jazz Piano Scholarship, the Martin Feldman Award, the Duke Ellington Jazz Award and several CMEA Command Performances. Since moving to New York in 2005, he worked with Blue Note artist Ambrose Akinmusire, Dayna Stephens, Obed Calvaire, Paula West, and Marcus Shelby, as well as crossing over into R&B, working with Bilal (Grammy-nominee), and Maiysha Kai (Grammy-nominee).   Never one to mind boundaries, he has collaborated with gospel star James Hall. as well as electronic producers Teeko, Captain Planet, and Pablo Ygal (formerly of Plug Research).  He has also composed for film (the festival-winning Bowling Blind, 2011) and dance (Martha Graham School of Dance, Long Island University).  He has also worked in musical theater, co-writing the musical "Finding Harlem" with Rent's Ano Okera.  In 2010, he released "First Things First", an album of original jazz, which garnered positive reviews in both Down Beat Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle.