Is there a link between musical ability and genius? Dr. William Walker, aka Bill, certainly seems to exemplify this theory. Bill holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and boasts a string of credits that put him in the major leagues of contemporary science. Bill's resume includes stints at Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group, Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), and Reactivity, Inc., a cutting-edge start-up. Bill is also a Research Scientist at San Jose State University's Center for Research in Electro-Acoustic Music (CREAM), where he is engaged in ongoing interactive music system research with Dr. Brian Belet. Bill has been a member of the CERL Sound Group for ten years, where he helped develop Lemur, a sound analysis/synthesis tool. He is also a member of the International Computer Music Association.

In between divining the relationship between human linguistics and software design in graduate school, Bill played with the Race Street Jazz Conspiracy, and composed in the Experimental Music Studios under the direction of Professor Scott Wyatt. He also collaborated with Professor Salvatore Martirano, a noted composer of works featuring live human-computer interaction. A pianist since childhood, Bill turned on to jazz at age 14, studying with Tony Caramia, a professor of note at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In 1994, Bill moved to Northern California's famed Silicon Valley, where he met guitarist Pat Smith, with whom he has made music for the past eight years. In 1996, Bill joined Pat in the critically acclaimed Penguin Jazz Quartet. The Penguin's two recordings received significant airplay.

Bill currently plays piano and keyboards with Nossa Bossa, a Bay Area Brazilian jazz quintet. With Nossa Bossa, Bill departs from his esoteric digital music studies in favor of the warm, vintage tones of the Hammond B3 organ and the classic 70's fusion sound of the Fender Rhodes piano.

"Brazilian music requires a totally different approach than straight-up jazz piano," says Bill. "The need to cover the bass line splits your brain in half and gives you more things to think about, which appeals to me. For me, what's cool is the opportunity to fuse the Hammond organ sound with the Brazilian tradition and its repertoire. And the Fender Rhodes is perfect for the moodier, more reflective songs. It's very exciting."