In the past 25+ years, Bill Banfield has produced a body of productive music/ arts scholarship activities, books, compositions, recordings, establishing an active teaching, student and music/ lecture programming development, professional service and creative work, that contributes to contemporary arts leadership.

Banfield was appointed in 2019 as a research associate with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH), one of the Smithsonian’s 12 research and cultural centers. His work focuses on what he identifies as cultural through-lines, delineating the ways in which contemporary artistry and new works harken back and hold onto critical cultural linkages to understand.

What they say
about Bill..

bob blumenthal

“… comfortable and persuasive inhabiting such expansive terrains, Bill Banfield has the musical wingspan and is confident in both concert hall and jam session, at home and ease whether committing his inspiration to manuscript or expressing it in the moment… Banfield is also a guitar player who understands the power of his instrument to create improvisational heat and lyrical glow, and a bandleader who presents his partners with music that can be felt together. Among those things, Banfield is a player who communicates. Those known best for their writing are often disparaged when they pick up an instrument, accused in jazz parlance of playing “arranger’s piano”. Banfield, in contrast, plays what we might call composer’s guitar, an approach in which ideas with melodic content and forward-springing suggestion trump self-contained ethnical exercises. He writes in a similar spirit, allowing his themes to resonate and grow,while his arrangements allow every member of the band to shine... Banfield’s perspective on jazz allows for stretching and grooving, and music by two of his idols, Wes Montgomery and John Coltrane, fits snugly among his own creations while receiving distinct interpretations... Much like a Cubist portrait, his work provides multiple perspectives and reveals highlights and shadows, without disrupting the integrity of the overall form.”

robin kelley

".. Banfield, a dazzling guitarist blessed with god-like fingers, a marvelous composer, and a prolific scholar/writer in his own right, is cut from the same cloth as Patrick and Baraka. Indeed, he is a “son” of Baraka, if you will, because his music, writing, and intellect embody the principles of the “changing same.” He ignores boundaries of genre and style, embracing the totality of Black music and culture in everything he does. Their collaboration, along with the Patrick’s commitment to preservation and documentation, turned what might have been just another jazz biography into a genuine event.."

ray b. browne, book review editor — journal of american culture

“Bill Banfield is a modern magician who, when he raises his baton on music of all kinds, fetches forth a spirit and image that touches new meanings and interpretations. This beautiful and innovative volume breathes new life and understanding to all notes and interpretations.  It is a volume not to sleep with but to sing on. Nobody interprets with a clearer voice and higher tone.”