Billy Townes has spent decades moving between the roles of pianist, composer, producer, educator and independent recording artist. Born in New York and shaped musically in El Paso, Townes has built a career around curiosity — exploring jazz, funk, contemporary production and the possibilities of the piano while continuing to work with both established musicians and emerging talent.
His recording career began with Stratosphere in 1988 and has since grown into a body of work spanning sixteen albums, including Sun City at Night, Nocturnal, Embrace, Everyday Life, Alchemy and his latest full-length project, This Is What I Said.
Throughout that evolution, Townes has remained committed to making music on his own terms: informed by the artists who inspired him, shaped by technology and collaboration, but never built around trends.
Billy Townes was born in New York City, but his relationship with music began far from there. While still a toddler in Okinawa, Japan, where his father was stationed in the Army, his first experiences with the piano came through his mother, a music teacher.
The family settled in El Paso, Texas in 1971. Soon afterward, Townes began formal classical piano training while also learning drums and later performing in his high school marching band.
It was his introduction to jazz as a teenager, however, that changed the direction of his life. The freedom, rhythm and conversation inside the music gave him a new way to think about composition and performance — an approach that would remain central to his work for decades.
Townes later attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona, studying both business and aviation while continuing to perform. During this period he played throughout Arizona with musicians including former Dave Brubeck bassist Dick Brandt and drummer Mel Zelnick of Benny Goodman’s Orchestra.
He also formed Modern Session with bassist Jim Foster. The group performed during summers in El Paso and eventually became a full-time musical project after Townes graduated. Their growing regional following encouraged Townes to record the original material he had been developing, leading to his debut recording, Stratosphere, in 1988.
From there, Townes continued building both his sound and his independence as an artist.
Billy Townes’ debut recording and the beginning of his recorded catalog.
A major step forward in Townes’ development as a nationally recognized jazz artist with the core Modern Session lineup.
A project reflecting Townes’ growing interest in recording technology and an increasingly developed sonic approach.
Townes founded his own independent label, giving him greater control over the creation and distribution of his music.
A more organic and live-oriented recording that became Townes’ bestselling project within its first two months of release.
Another chapter in Townes’ continued exploration of new musical territory.
Alongside his recording career, Townes also developed BT Productions, a full-service recording facility, while continuing to perform, compose and produce. Over time his work expanded beyond his own releases into mentorship and music education, allowing him to work closely with new generations of musicians in El Paso.
Townes remains deeply connected to the musical community that helped shape him. In addition to recording and performing, his career as an educator has given him the opportunity to discover and cultivate emerging talent.
He has taught electronic music recording and mass communication with an emphasis on audio production at El Paso Community College and the University of Texas at El Paso, and has also worked as a jazz clinician with students at Coronado High School.
That exchange between generations continues to influence the way Townes approaches his own music: experienced musicians, younger players, live rhythm sections, technology and improvisation all meeting in the same room.
His latest full-length album, This Is What I Said, reflects that philosophy.
This Is What I Said represents both a continuation and a declaration. Built across ten tracks and featuring more than thirty musicians, the album brings together longtime collaborators, emerging El Paso talent and veteran players including bassist Sekou Bunch and drummer Rayford Griffin.
The project also reflects Townes’ interest in the sounds that shaped his musical identity. Piano, Rhodes, synthesizers and live drums combine contemporary production with influences from artists such as George Duke, Joe Sample and Dave Grusin.
For Townes, the album is less about following contemporary trends than clearly stating where he stands musically.
Decades after his first release, Billy Townes continues to write, record, perform and collaborate — carrying the same curiosity that began with his earliest encounters with jazz into every new project.
