Like most young drummers, Billy Kilson began his career in his mother's kitchen with her pots and pans. His love for the drums began to grow as he grew. Pots and pans, twigs and sticks were used to create a beat. Seeing her son's interest in music, Billy's mother enrolled him in trumpet lessons and later he switched to trombone. His yearning for the drums continued and finally, for his sixteenth birthday he received his first drum set. The gift was conditional upon his continuance of good grades. He kept his part of the bargain and graduated with honors while taking advantage of every free moment to pursue his passion for the drums.

Billy went immediately to work to develop his drumming skills. He realized he was working against the clock since most professional musicians began taking lessons on their chosen instrument in grade school and are semi-pro by high school. Billy was just starting out at the old age of 16. "I practiced as much as 14 hours a day. That was it; there were no short cuts. I had to work around studies and other responsibilities. But all through college and the early years after college, I tried to put in those 14 hours on the drums."

Billy learned all different styles of playing. Inspired by funk and R&B, he listened to groups such as Sly and Family Stone, Earth Wind and Fire, and Parliament & Funkadelic and played along with the records. "I listened to everything. Since so much of my early playing was self-taught, I think this was the key to my diverse styles. I was exposed to so many different styles. My father loved music and on Saturdays, his favorite thing to do was to listen to music all day long. He had a massive record collection consisting of artists from Count Basie and Duke Ellington to Junior Walker and James Brown."

At sixteen, Billy attended the Maryland Gifted and Talented Institute for High School Students. At seventeen he went to the Shenandoah Music Camp and heard recordings by Stanley Clarke and Miles Davis that featured Tony Williams. "I felt he was the most innovative drummer I had ever heard. I was mesmerized by his playing," recalls Billy. He was overwhelmed with the sound and kept trying to learn this technique, but felt he didn't have enough hands. "I kept saying, 'How does he do that. It's impossible!" Billy learned that Tony Williams' teacher was Alan Dawson who had taught at Berklee at one time and still taught privately in the area. "My mom was already checking out the college scene. She was trying to find the school that offered the right balance of music and academics." Having learned some things about Berklee, she was in agreement with Billy's enthusiastic assessment of the school.

In the meantime, Billy kept practicing and listening. Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Billy Cobham, they were all on the turntable. But the greatest musical influence in Billy's life was his mother. "She taught me to have faith, be focused and anything is attainable. She is the one single person who believed in me and encouraged me. I owe any success I have to her."

At Berklee, Billy absorbed everything Alan Dawson taught. Alan became his teacher, mentor and even a father figure. Finally, Alan announced that he had taught him everything he could and it was time to go out in the world and perform. But Billy's performing aspirations were put on hold. "I had a wife and a baby girl and I couldn't go out on the road and be that 'starving musician' even if I was willing to make the sacrifice for myself. I had more important obligations." Then one day Alan Dawson informed him that Walter Davis Jr. was planning a European tour and looking for a drummer. Upon Dawson's recommendation, Billy was invited to audition. He landed the job and he was on his way.

After the tour with Davis, word spread and the calls began to come. Donald Byrd, Ahmad Jamal and Dianne Reeves were some of the first artists who hired Billy for their tours. "I was with Dianne for seven years and playing in her band helped introduce me to all of the major festivals both here and in Europe. We played venues such as the Hollywood Bowl, Apollo Theater, North Sea, and Montreux." From this exposure, Billy caught the attention of George Duke, Najee, Freddie Jackson, Bob James and the calls kept coming.

Eventually Dave Holland invited Billy to join his quintet. As the drummer for the Dave Holland Quintet, he brought an element of funk to the band, creating a new sound for them and catapulting them into a premiere group in jazz. Critics frequently lauded his performances, particularly his expertise with odd meters. Dave Holland received two Grammys for projects featuring Billy and four nominations. Billy then joined Chris Botti's band. Chris had just landed an opening spot for Sting's tour which enabled Billy to play to a wider audience as Chris opened for artists such as Sting, Josh Groban and Earth Wind and Fire.

Although he has achieved notable success as a sideman in concert and on recordings, Billy's first love is creating and performing his own music. Influenced by the funk and fusion music of his youth, Billy began to write his own music and plan his first recording, While Ur Sleepin', which featured guest appearances by Bob James, Dave Holland and Robin Eubanks.

Later he assembled some of his peers, Kenny Davis (bass), Mike Sim (saxophone) and George Colligan (keys) and performed a few dates. They came together as seasoned musicians, reading each other like a favorite book, anticipating the next move perfectly, stepping out to solo at the perfect moment and keeping the groove going at all times.

They began performing and developing a new energy of their own which led them back to the studio to record. Like Billy, they all had diverse backgrounds and the project became a summation of their collective musical experiences. They went back in the studio to record Pot's & Pans, a jazz/funk/fusion project with a special nod to drummers. Pots & Pans garnered rave reviews including Jazz Times' declaration that "this ain't pretty-boy jazz your grandma smiles to."

As BK Groove progressed, scheduling conflicts became a problem, so BK Groove began to emerge as more of a collective than a set band. This enabled Billy to continually reach out to other musicians of his caliber who also had diverse discographies and touring experiences to perform with BK Groove. The rotation of band members keeps the sound fresh as each person brings a new perspective to the band. Some of the musicians that have performed with BK Groove are Kenny Davis, Henry Hey, George Colligan, Steve Wilson, Antonio Hart, James Genus and Mike Sim.

While Billy continued his sideman work, he constantly received compliments about his live performances from both fans and critics. Fans didn't just want to hear Billy, they wanted to see him perform. Encouraged by this demand, Billy recorded Rhythm Dancer, a live DVD/CD combination package. This collection features Billy "unleashed" playing his music with a stellar band including Kenny Davis (bass) Steve Wilson (saxophone) and Henry Hey (keyboards). The resulting sound is funky fusion with a solid groove, complicated rhythms and intricate jazz as well as jaw-dropping performances that only Billy Kilson can deliver.