BILL BOYD (1933-2001) played professionally as both a solo performer and band member in hotels, supper clubs, and private clubs in New York and Long Island for many years. Mr. Boyd composed numerous jazz collections published by Hal Leonard, including the Think Jazz piano method and the Jazz Starters series for beginners. He received a Master's degree from Columbia University and taught junior high school in Huntington, Long Island, for over twenty years. He retired to Florida in the late 1980s, where he continued to devote his time to arranging and composing. Mr. Boyd's ability to impart the essence of "true" jazz style to very young piano students is a hallmark of his writing, even in the truly primer-level pieces he wrote for piano, such as his Jazz Prelims. As such, his popular and imaginative compositions comprise a lasting and important contribution to the world of piano pedagogy.