Quiet Girl from Acceptance by Billy Childs
The Langston Hughes poem, “Ardella” (also called “Quiet Girl”) is the inspiration behind this composition, a piece that I composed back in the mid-80s for my first recording, Take For Example, This... It’s getting a reboot here by these amazing musicians: Steve Wilson, Hans Glawischnig and Eric Harland. Back in the mid-80s, I remember going to visit my parents at their house (the house I grew up in) and my mother had this book of poetry which she brought home from the school where she was
teaching; it was sitting on a table. I picked it up and opened it and the first thing I saw was this exquisite haiku-like poem by Langston called “Quiet Girl” (I later discovered that it was only titled “Quiet Girl” for this particular publication – it’s also called “Ardella.” It inspired me to compose this song and I decided it to dedicate it to my girlfriend, Holly (who later became my wife). “I would liken you/ to a night without stars/ were it not for your eyes/ I would liken you/ to a sleep without dreams/ were it not for your song.”
Tracklist
| 6. | Quiet Girl | 6:46 |
Credits
Billy Childs • Lunacy Music [BMI]
soprano sax – Steve Wilson
piano – Billy Childs
acoustic bass – Hans Glawischnig
drums – Eric Harland
License
All rights reserved.Tags
Pianist Billy Childs is one of the foremost American composers of his era and has successfully married the musical products of his heritage with the Western neoclassical traditions of the twentieth century in a powerful symbiosis of style, range, and dynamism. Thus far in his career, Childs has garnered several honors including seventeen GRAMMY® Award nominations, and won six of them.