Bill Sample

Bill Sample has been a force in the West Coast music scene for many years. He has a degree in Composition (University of Victoria) and studied Jazz Arranging at Berklee College (Boston), on a full scholarship. His recording credits include Ashanti, Simple Plan, Michelle Wright, Jim Brickman, Randy Bachman (Jazz Thing), Eric Bibb, Valdy, Seal, Wakim Chow (Rock Records, Teipai), and Norman Foote. As a producer, he has worked with Eric and Leon Bibb, Jane Mortifee, the “legendary” Sample Stearns Band, Leonard and Sample and others. As Music Director for David Foster for 8 years, he has worked with Brian Adams, Celine Dion, Fee Waybill (The Tubes), Boz Scaggs and Kenny Loggins, to name a few. He has composed original scores for TV and Film, including “The Swinging Nutcracker”, a one hour adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Ballet, arranged for big band. He was Music Director for the Variety Club Telethon for ten years and is in his 13th season with Telemiracle in Saskatchewan. He co-starred in the TV series “The Jim Byrnes Show”, playing the role of the piano player. Recently he was Music Director and pianist for the highly acclaimed musical review “Cookin’ at the Cookery”, which returns as a touring production through October and November of 2007. As a jazz educator he had a young lady named Diana Krall as a piano student. He was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2003.  When Bill plays, people.