Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Dave Childs has been working as a pianist for 30 years. At seven years old, he began playing piano, started French horn in grade school and the drums in junior high. He spent his last summer of high school in Europe where he traveled and played drums in a big band. Dave attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and has been fortunate to study under such jazz luminaries as Steve Allee, James Williams, and Donald Brown. In the mid-1980’s, Dave spent several years traveling and working as a pianist in the Far East.

Dave performs full time in the tri state region and has shared the stage with jazz greats Jimmy Heath, Eddie Bert, James Moody, Lionel Hampton, Larry Ridley, Roswell Rudd, Dick Oatts, Bill Watrous, and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, to name a few.


Dave’s performances span a variety of venues including New Haven Jazz Festival, Jazz on the Green, Long Wharf Theatre, Quick Center for the Performing Arts, Silvermine Tavern, Stamford Forum, Le Cirque, the Glass House NYC, Le Chateau, St. Peter’s Church NYC, Branford House on Avery Point, Bartlett Arboretum, Pequot Library, the Graduate Club, and many others.

 
Over the years, Dave has been featured on a variety of recordings including three of his own full-length CDs. His most recent CD is a jazz trio with sax and bass recorded in 2013.   

Dave’s interest in a variety of musical genres has led him to various positions as a church musician, including at Hastings on the Hudson Lutheran and Rowayton Methodist Churches. For over 6 years, Dave has been the pianist for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Bridgeport where he combines jazz, classical, pop, folk, and world music for services and other events.
 
In addition to performing, Dave teaches piano at Fairfield University and the Cider Mill Conservatory in Wilton, Connecticut.