Bio
Born in Long Island, NY, in 1951, Billy Novick began playing clarinet at age eight,. He picked up the sax at fifteen, and began playing club dates and concerts around the New York area. When he went to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, he spent his weekends performing at various jazz festivals throughout the Midwest. Mr. Novick left Carlton after a year, moving to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music.
In 1973, Novick started touring and making regional appearances with a series of pop performers, including David Bromberg, Leon Redbone, Jonathan Edwards, and Martha and the Vandellas. When not on the road, he could be found performing with his own jazz trio at various clubs and colleges throughout the Northeast, and composing music for modern dance concerts. While rehearsing for a dance performance in 1976, Novick was introduced to the innovative guitarist Guy Van Duser, and the two began a collaboration that continues to flourish. The duo has issued nine recordings, including the award-winning "The New Pennywhistle Album," and have been frequent guests on the Prairie Home Companion radio show. In May, 1995, Novick and Van Duser were featured in a 20 minute interview on National Public Radio's All Things Considered.
In 1986, Mr. Novick joined the internationally-acclaimed New Black Eagle Jazz Band, and continues to perform with them. He has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and has made spotlight appearances at numerous festivals, including the Kool, Newport, Edinburgh, and L.A. Classic jazz festivals, and the Philadelphia and Winnipeg folk festivals.
Mr. Novick has always had an eclectic sensibility, and although jazz has always been his first love, he enjoys being able to play a wide range of musical styles. He has performed with blues greats Robert Junior Lockwood, Willie Dixon, and Duke Robillard, as well as jazz musicians such as Scott Hamilton, Milt Hinton, Herb Pomeroy, Dave McKenna and Butch Thompson. He has recorded with artists ranging from Celtic singer/harpist Aine Minogue to singer/songwriter Susan Werner, Tex-Mex star Freddy Fender, and even rock legend J. Geils.
Novick's versatility has enabled him to have a very active career as a studio musician, being featured on more than 250 recordings. As a performer, arranger and composer, his music has appeared in countless movie and television soundtracks, including John Sayles' "Eight Men Out" and "Lone Star," Wes Craven's "Music Of The Heart," "The Opposite of Sex," and "Seabiscuit." His clarinet playing can be heard on the current theme songs of the popular PBS shows "Antiques Roadshow" and "This Old House." His jugband adaptation of Peter and the Wolf (on Alcazar Records, with Dave Van Ronk narrating) was premiered in New York's Lincoln Center in 1992, and his orchestral arrangements have been performed by the Delaware Symphony and the Harrisburg Symphony, among others.
Mr. Novick has released five albums under his own name, the most recent being "A Rose in the Desert."
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