Acclaimed as a jazz composer, vocalist, and pianist, Billy Stritch has earned recognition for his distinctive takes on the Great American Songbook. He first attracted notice as part of the vocal trio Montgomery, Plant & Stritch before achieving broader prominence through a long-term partnership with Liza Minnelli, serving more than two decades as her arranger and musical director. Among his own releases are the 1991 album Billy Stritch, the 2000 recording Jazz Live, and 2007’s Billy Stritch Sings Mel Torme. Stritch co-wrote Reba McEntire’s Grammy-winning 1993 track “Does He Love You?” and has worked on various projects with Christine Ebersole, Linda Lavin, Benny Carter, Tony Bennett, Klea Blackhurst, and additional artists.
Stritch entered the world in 1962 in Sugar Land, Texas, and took up the piano at age 12 while performing in church. Exposure to jazz prompted him to explore the styles of pianists such as Oscar Peterson and George Shearing. Displaying early talent, he secured a regular engagement at a neighborhood country club, where he fielded audience requests. He devoted extensive time to mastering jazz standards and later added singing, drawing inspiration from figures including Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Mark Murphy, and Carmen McRae. His sister also brought contemporary pop by Billy Joel and Elton John into his awareness, prompting him to incorporate their material into his performances as well.
Following graduation from high school, he pursued theater studies at the University of Houston. There he joined forces with Sharon Montgomery and Rebecca Plant to establish the jazz vocal ensemble Montgomery, Plant & Stritch. Throughout much of the late 1980s the group performed at supper clubs and festivals, highlighted by a notable appearance alongside Mel Torme at Carnegie Hall during the JVC Jazz Festival.
After the trio disbanded, Stritch moved to New York City and took on engagements in cabaret venues and piano bars. One such performance led to an introduction to Liza Minnelli, who enlisted him to prepare arrangements for her 1991 production Live from Radio City Music Hall. The collaboration extended over twenty years, encompassing worldwide tours, production duties on her 1996 Grammy-nominated album Gently, and co-arranging the Minnelli on Minnelli concert at the Palace Theater in New York City.
Independent of Minnelli, Stritch received praise for co-authoring, with Sandy Knox, the 1993 Grammy-winning Reba McEntire and Linda Davis recording “Does He Love You?” Additional studio work included sessions with saxophonist Benny Carter, Lucie Arnaz, Marcia Lewis, and Frankie Laine. His debut solo effort, Billy Stritch, appeared in 1991 and featured standards rendered in a trio setting with bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Terry Clarke. The 1997 orchestral project Waters of March showcased bossa nova and Brazilian repertoire by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Marcos Valle, Dori Caymmi, and others.
Stritch issued his third album, Jazz Live, in 2000, captured at The Jazz Standard in New York City alongside bassist John Arbo and drummer Dave Ratajczak. The following year he portrayed Oscar in the Broadway revival of 42nd Street opposite Christine Ebersole. Their rapport grew into a joint nightclub act, documented on the 2004 album In Your Dreams and the 2008 concert recording Sunday in New York.
In 2007 Stritch released Billy Stritch Sings Mel Torme as a tribute to his vocal hero. He next partnered with singer Klea Blackhurst on 2008’s Dreaming of a Song: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael. Appearances with Minnelli followed in the 2010 film Sex and the City 2 and on her standards collection Confessions later that year. He joined her sister Linda Lavin for the 2011 album Possibilities. As a pianist he contributed to Tony Bennett’s 2016 birthday concert release Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 and produced and performed on Ernie Haase & Signature Sounds’ 2019 holiday project A Jazzy Little Christmas.
