"In a rare combination of talents, Joyce Collins is at once a jazz pianist of the highest order,
a soulful singer and an accomplished arranger and composer."
- Leonard Feather, Encyclopedia of Jazz

In a recent interview for the New York Times, Joyce recalls the first jazz and piano records
she heard, and remembers that it was instant love and addiction. Those records were by
Fats Waller, Frankie Carle, and Teddy Wilson.

"I grew up in a small town in Nevada (Battle Mountain, pop.800). I played completely by ear,
copying the songs I heard on the radio. I went to high school in Reno, Nevada and by that time
I was playing professionally. After a year at Stockton Jr. College, I was advised by Dave Brubeck
to move to San Francisco. I attended San Francisco State, where I studied classical piano and
played in the S.F. State Jazz Band. By then, of course, my influences were Bud Powell,
Lester Young, Erroll Garner, Wynton Kelly, and Nat Cole. I moved to LA in the late '50's.
By now my influences included Bill Evans. Vocal influences include Peggy Lee, Nat Cole,
Jeri Southern, Shirley Horn, and Ray Charles. I feel so blessed and lucky that I'm playing the
music I love, teaching, and studying arranging and composing. My pupils are carrying on
the legacy of Jazz."

Joyce has become nationally and internationally known for her work with trio as well as a
soloist in concert halls and jazz clubs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Paris, Mexico City,
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo. In the 80's she received two performing grants from the
National Endowment of the Arts to formulate a program of the Music of Women Jazz
Composers. This program was presented on radio station KPFK in Los Angeles, and has
since been heard in concert halls and college campuses throughout the US. Besides being a
performer, Collins was the piano coach for Beau and Jeff Bridges in the movie "The Fabulous
Baker Boys." She also fronted a quartet and played at the live filming of the Mary Tyler Moore
and Bob Newhart shows - occasionally making "on camera" appearances.

Collins has guested twice on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio show. For dates her segments
air, check www.PianoJazz.org.

Recent activities include concerts with singer/actor Wilford Brimley with U.S. Air Force
jazz bands throughout America.