William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States.When he was sixteen, he attended the Community School of the Performing Arts sponsored by the University of Southern California. He studied music theory with Marienne Uszler and piano with John Weisenfluh. From 1975–'79 he attended the University of Southern California and received a degree in composition under the tutelage of Robert Linn.