William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States.

His early influences as a pianist included Herbie Hancock, Keith Emerson, and Chick Corea, and as a composer, Paul Hindemith, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky.

In 2000, Childs arranged, orchestrated and conducted Dianne Reeves's project The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan,[1] which won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Other artists and producers for whom Childs has arranged include Sting, Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Botti, Gladys Knight, Michael Bublé, David Foster, Phil Ramone, and Claudia Acuña.

Childs was influenced by Laura Nyro's collaborations with Alice Coltrane (on Christmas and the Beads of Sweat) and by a desire to merge classical and jazz music.