Bill has been playing the piano since he was five.

When he first appeared on the New York jazz scene in 1988, he was celebrated as a major new discovery, playing with such greats as Gary Peacock and Bill Stewart.

The foundation for his career had been laid, so, no friend of the big city, he left NYC in 1993, eventually moving to the environs of Lake Michigan.

Bill has played many venues throughout the US and Europe including the Village Gate, Knitting Factory, Birdland, Blues Alley, New Morning (Paris), the Audi Jazz Festival in Brussels, Nevers Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Jazz Middelheim, and the Marciac Festival.

In October of 2000, he headlined the prestigious Rising Star Tour throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Bill has been a leader on 17 recordings, all of which have received critical acclaim.

His sideman credits have included some of the greatest names in jazz, including Joe Beck, Scott Colley, Buddy DeFranco, Dave Douglas, Curtis Fuller, Eric Gravatt, Drew Gress, Tim Hagans, Billy Higgins, Lee Konitz, James Moody, Gary Peacock, Dewey Redman, Charlie Rouse, James Spaulding, Bill Stewart, Ben Street, Ira Sullivan, Toots Thielemans, and Benny Wallace.

He has received a variety of major awards, including the French “Diapason d’Or” and appears on two masterful Bill Stewart Quintet recordings on Blue Note Records.

Bill is also a professor at Lawrence University Conservatory.

DownBeat called him “a probing, intelligent player with a beautiful touch and a wide stylistic range.”