Bill Kwan

Vocalist Bill Kwan has cultivated a reputation for his sensitive, finely shaded approach to crossover jazz. After issuing a debut collection of standards in 2013, he earned broader recognition through jazz interpretations of contemporary pop and rock material on the 2015 release Poison & Wine and the 2021 album Ordinary Love: The Music of Sade.

Born in California, Kwan first developed a passion for jazz during his medical studies at the University of Southern California. Concerts by vocalists such as Mel Tormé, Nancy Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald prompted him to begin performing, and he later established residence in San Francisco, where he opened a dermatology practice. In his spare hours he pursued private jazz and vocal instruction with Kitty Margolis, Laurie Antonioli, and Wayne Wallace. Live appearances ensued, leading to his 2010 trio recording Pentimento, a set of standards.

Kwan followed with More Than This in 2013. Under the guidance of producer Matt Pierson, whose prior credits include work with Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, and k.d. lang, the album blended traditional standards with selections by Radiohead and Bryan Ferry. He continued the collaboration with Pierson on Poison & Wine, a 2015 project that explored songs by Gillian Welch, Björk, and Gotye among others. In 2021 Kwan issued his third Pierson-produced recording, Ordinary Love: The Music of Sade, an introspective survey of the renowned British soul singer’s catalog.