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life is beautiful album cover with the words "the music is centered on the beauty of life we are surrounded by daily, and meant to be timeless and essential listening for our timeless and complex lives
March 31, 2022
Life Is Beautiful

My 25th album, life is beautiful with Luques Curtis/bass & Rudy Roston/drums, is out April 1st! I feel that I have been creating this album my entire life: it is filled with, or more accurately, drenched in, my abiding devotion to the piano, animated with a lifelong enthusiasm for composing, and inspired by my ongoing love of nature. My hope is that you will be uplifted and inspired by this twenty first century jazz with its influences from different cultures, genres and eras. […]

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silhouette of lisa against a sunset with the words a musical experience like an album, or art you hang on your wall, continues to add to your life for a long time, or maybe forever if it’s a favorite."
March 1, 2022
Life is Beautiful Q+A

Q & A WITH COMPOSER/PIANIST/BAND LEADER, LISA HILTON ON HER NEW RELEASE LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL OUT APRIL 1, 2022 WITH BANDMATES RUDY ROYSTON/DRUMS AND LUQUES CURTIS/BASS Q: Congratulations on your latest release: how many does this make?  LH: I’ve recorded twenty – five albums now! Q: Congrats – that’s quite a few! You must enjoy the process…  LH: I do! Ever since I was a little girl I have enjoyed creating art, music and experiences too. Q: Yeah, I read your liner […]

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photo of lisa in a black dress with a camel hat and the words "In the studio, we don’t rehearse, but we record three takes of each track/song, so just choosing one take over another manifests in hours and hours of audio analyzing to make final choices."
January 29, 2022
Producing Creativity

Happy New Year! I had a nice winter break, and now I’ve mostly been wearing my producer hat the last couple weeks.  Ok, it looks just like my musician hat of course, but it represents less piano time and a lot more listening.  In the studio, we don’t rehearse, but we record three takes of each track/song, so just choosing one take over another manifests in hours and hours of audio analyzing to make final choices. What really makes a […]

READ MORE
an image of lisa looking up from the piano with the words"I like the idea of just enjoying this moment just how it is, and seeing what our new year brings without any expectations"
December 20, 2021
Happy Holidays!

In my heart… I’d love to invite everyone to a holiday party this year!  Imagine a big sunny event with amazing music along the lines of the Newport Jazz festival!  “The more the merrier” sounds wonderful to me!  Things will, in fact, be pretty low key around here though – maybe at your home too?  This year will still be an improvement over last year’s barely-there holiday though.  We’ve all experienced a reality shifting two years, and 2022 is coming.  […]

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Lisa Hilton Photo + Quote 11-27 (1)
November 22, 2021
Thankfully… A Holiday Discount!

Of course with the holiday of Thanksgiving almost here, we are all thinking of our blessings right now, but I think many of us have actually been quietly adding up what we are grateful for all year long. We are all thankful to see family and friends more often this year, thankful to take a few small trips again, thankful to have made it through 2020 despite the tremendous trauma of that year.  I really think we have even been […]

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life is beautiful album cover with the words "the music is centered on the beauty of life we are surrounded by daily, and meant to be timeless and essential listening for our timeless and complex lives

Life Is Beautiful

March 31, 2022 by Lisa Hilton
Clara Schumann, Life is Beautiful, Lil Hardin, New Release

My 25th album, life is beautiful with Luques Curtis/bass & Rudy Roston/drums, is out April 1st!

I feel that I have been creating this album my entire life: it is filled with, or more accurately, drenched in, my abiding devotion to the piano, animated with a lifelong enthusiasm for composing, and inspired by my ongoing love of nature. My hope is that you will be uplifted and inspired by this twenty first century jazz with its influences from different cultures, genres and eras. This music is centered on the beauty of life that we are surrounded by daily, and meant to be timeless and essential listening for our complex lives. Here are my thoughts about each of the tracks on the album:

I have been a fan of blues inflected jazz since my teen years.  Ernie’s Blues has stunning chords alongside loose bluesy passages – I really love how Luques and Rudy sound on this one!  Written by sax musician/composer Ernie Wilkins, it’s an example of how I prefer to compose too – crafting melodic lines, but allowing room for improvisation. 

I took piano lessons in middle and high school, and was fortunate that my teacher introduced me to the syncopated rhythms of mid – century masters such as Bartók, Prokofiev, & Kabalevsky. Retro Road Trip has a similar energy to their music, but this tune also has a distinct vintage American vibe too. 
When I was growing up, my mother would play her beloved jazz standards on our upright piano, but the music often puzzled me:  How do you dance Cheek to Cheek?  Why were there Three Coins in a Fountain?  Where was Chattanooga? Years later, those romantic standards Mom would play filtered into my two love songs here: Nightingales & Fairy Tales and So This Is Love.

The exotic rain forests of the Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand have a mysterious energy. In Too Hot, I was curious if I could reproduce that vibe by modulating in different keys, (also called modes). Modal jazz produces a unique musical ambience and was used fluently in the past by Miles Davis, Bill Evans and others.

Unforgotten Moments, Half Forgotten Dreams seems to express the last two years – moments never before experienced that will not be forgotten, sandwiched in our psyche with previous dreams from the “olden days” of 2019. 

Stepping Into Paradise invites us to appreciate, or step into, each moment as a form of paradise. Musical ideas that drift, shift and swing effortlessly makes this tune one of my favorites.

Living in Southern California, Latin music is as much of a part of our culture as our outdoor lifestyle. Santa Monica Samba is not a samba, but it’s a good – mood tune written after witnessing a seemingly endless West Coast sunset.  I added a little phrase inspired by the composer/pianist Horace Silver who lived near there for many years.

 I began “writing” music with names like Fairy Dance when I was about five years old.  Later on as a teen, I would play what was to became Seduction, for my encouraging friends, which eventually grew into the complete composition here. It is still one of my favorites to play!

Temporary Lullaby was written for my daughter: I had been contemplating that all life is temporary, so it is essential to savor each “lullaby” of time. 

More Than Another Day was influenced by my favorite composers: Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Cole Porter. I admire Miles for the creativity of his best – selling album, Kind of Blue, which introduced the “cool” jazz style – music played with a less frantic or “cooler” approach, with written arrangements and classical influences. Jobim had intriguing harmonic ideas and timeless melodies.  Porter, a true musical genius, wrote many beloved songs, but I favor his subtle ways with rhythm and note placement.

I have always loved the piano and composing – they allow me freedom to create abundantly, communicate personally and explore musically. I am often asked what pianists I am most inspired by – I admire Bill Evans, Horace Silver, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Brad Mehldau and Yuja Wang, but I feel more influenced by great composers of all eras, spending countless hours every year investigating their music. 

 I am also motivated by women with remarkable musical life stories like Clara Schumann: a piano virtuoso and composer who toured extensively, financially supporting both her demanding father and her mentally unstable husband, composer Robert Schumann.  Lil Hardin: a successful jazz composer, pianist and band leader at a time when there were few women in jazz, she also taught music theory to her husband, trumpeter Louis Armstrong.  Famed composer, lyricist and singer, Joni Mitchell should also be noted for being an innovative guitarist, a bandleader and music publisher.  Women have always been creative leaders as composers, musicians, bandleaders and instrumentalists, and culturally we are indebted to their artistic legacies. Their stories should be told and their music heard in theaters presenting opera, classical music and jazz around the world.

Take Care,
Lisa

silhouette of lisa against a sunset with the words a musical experience like an album, or art you hang on your wall, continues to add to your life for a long time, or maybe forever if it’s a favorite."

Life is Beautiful Q+A

March 1, 2022 by Lisa Hilton
Life is Beautiful, Lisa Hilton, Q&A

Q & A WITH COMPOSER/PIANIST/BAND LEADER, LISA HILTON ON HER NEW RELEASE LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL OUT APRIL 1, 2022 WITH BANDMATES RUDY ROYSTON/DRUMS AND LUQUES CURTIS/BASS

Q: Congratulations on your latest release: how many does this make? 

LH: I’ve recorded twenty – five albums now!

Q: Congrats – that’s quite a few! You must enjoy the process… 

LH: I do! Ever since I was a little girl I have enjoyed creating art, music and experiences too.

Q: Yeah, I read your liner notes and saw that you started composing very young.

LH: Well those were very simple tunes – I was not a Mozart! It wasn’t until I was a teenager that my composing really started to improve – I’d play a bit for my friends and they were always encouraging.

Q: What do you mean when you say you “like to create experiences?” 

LH: I love to compose individual tunes, but the CD or album to me is something you experience over  and over. A book, concert or movie you experience normally once, but a musical experience like an  album, or art you hang on your wall, continues to add to your life for a long time, or maybe forever if it’s a favorite. Yes, recording an album is always a lot of work, but I enjoy crafting and collaborating on a  new experience every year for the listener – it actually energizes me. Someone told me that our music  has become “the soundtrack to his life” – I like that!

Q: Nice! Speaking of collaborators, you’ve got your same trio back with Rudy Royston & Luques  Curtis. What’s it like working with them? 

LH: They are terrific players of course, but they are also nice, and have the highest work ethic. I think all  musicians right now are hungry to play, so it feels really good when we have the opportunity to get  together all day in the studio when we record. Despite the masks and other challenges, musicians need  to create music. It sounds simplistic, but that’s how we thrive.

Q: How long have you worked with Rudy & Luques? 

LH: Hmmm… I think the first time I performed with Rudy was probably 2011 or 2013 in Hollywood with  our quartet including JD Allen on sax, and with Luques we first played together at the Smithsonian in  D.C. in 2018. We’ve had some great times performing – I think we’ve played together at Carnegie  Hall/NYC two or three times – the last time was in early 2020 with a very nice ovation!

Q: Were your writing to a concept for life is beautiful? 

LH: As the pandemic continues on, like most of us, I wish I could do something positive that would help others. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make everyone well, but that’s not the way this world, or science works.

Q: Yeah, I hear you. 

LH: The only thing I thought that might help others, is for us to create jazz that is an uplifting experience wherever you might be listening: working at home or driving to work, having a picnic or a fancy dinner,  being in nature or at the gym – an experience or playlist for our lives. We all need a break from the news,  and a reminder that no matter what is going on in our world, we can still find or create beauty around  us. So this music is a collection inspired by different genres, eras, and cultures: it’s jazz for the twenty first century, and it’s based on enjoying the often forgotten beauty that is around us every single day.

Q: I like that. It was interesting to me that you mentioned women like Lil Hardin Armstrong, Joni  Mitchell and Clara Schumann in your liner notes, who were/are great leaders as musicians, but  who are often overlooked for all the contributions they’ve made.  

LH: It has been implied by some that there hasn’t been leadership by women in classical, jazz or opera,  but that isn’t true. We might not hear music by women composers in our great theaters, performing arts  centers or jazz clubs very often, but we should! These women, and many others led inspiring lives and made plenty of cultural contributions – their stories should be told and their work honored.

Q: Last question: the album photos are very unique – how did you get those?

LH: We were hiking, and it was a little wintery and cloudy, but there was a luminous late afternoon sun  still glowing off the ocean. The photographer, Aaron Regan, spotted a lovely random moment and had me  stand on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific. The photos actually remind me of this time in our  world too – it’s a bit cloudy, but if you are looking… life is beautiful.

image grid with photos of lisa, her trio recording, and the new life is beautiful CD

 

photo of lisa in a black dress with a camel hat and the words "In the studio, we don’t rehearse, but we record three takes of each track/song, so just choosing one take over another manifests in hours and hours of audio analyzing to make final choices."

Producing Creativity

January 29, 2022 by Lisa Hilton
Life is Beautiful, Producer, Recording

Happy New Year!

I had a nice winter break, and now I’ve mostly been wearing my producer hat the last couple weeks.  Ok, it looks just like my musician hat of course, but it represents less piano time and a lot more listening.  In the studio, we don’t rehearse, but we record three takes of each track/song, so just choosing one take over another manifests in hours and hours of audio analyzing to make final choices. What really makes a “best” take anyhow?  What about the first – isn’t it always the best?  There is a Myth of the First Take: it’s supposed to be effused with the energy of the moment and the prowess of the performers, but I’ve found that any take can be great.  If someone is excited to get started, or to eat, or even to leave, you might gain an extra boost of excitement for a few minutes.  (Whitney Houston famously recorded a hit song in one take so she could get to the mall in time).  Musicians tend to be more relaxed after a couple takes, but I noticed my own first/best take on a solo piano piece made the album, and that was right before lunch.  One thing we don’t do – we don’t overdub our work – record instruments at different times and piece them together later. I think jazz should be more natural than that, so we always record together.

Each album normally has 4-6 engineers: the “tracking” engineer, and their assistant, who sets up the mics and records the music tracks to Pro Tools, has the best knowledge of where to place the equipment for each instrument and how to get the best sound. The editing/Pro Tools engineer, will separate the chosen takes, clean up any random noises and prepare/send the digital tracks to the mix engineer.  The mix engineer specializes in creating the balance in each song – how much piano, bass or drums in each track?  Lowering overzealous drums, or increasing the volume on the bass solo can make a big difference.  After the individual tracks are completed, the final step is handled by the mastering engineer. They balance the volume and sound across the entire album, including the space allotted between each track, (yep, that is part of their job to create that little second of space).  

Before working in music, I was an art director and creative director at an ad agency – that job was very similar to my producer role today – both allow me to collaborate with a wide variety of creative people working to get results we are all proud of. In the past I worked with photographers, illustrators and copywriters and now as a producer I work with musicians, engineers and studio managers.  It’s really cool to work cooperatively on a creative team – yes it’s always a lot of work – but it’s getting a little easier now that I’ve recorded twenty five albums!  I’m looking forward to sharing the new music with you this spring!

Take care,

Lisa

image grid of lisa and her trio recording in the studio and notebooks full of notes

an image of lisa looking up from the piano with the words"I like the idea of just enjoying this moment just how it is, and seeing what our new year brings without any expectations"

Happy Holidays!

December 20, 2021 by Lisa Hilton
Holidays, New Year, Transparent Sky

In my heart… I’d love to invite everyone to a holiday party this year!  Imagine a big sunny event with amazing music along the lines of the Newport Jazz festival!  “The more the merrier” sounds wonderful to me!  Things will, in fact, be pretty low key around here though – maybe at your home too?  This year will still be an improvement over last year’s barely-there holiday though. 

We’ve all experienced a reality shifting two years, and 2022 is coming.  I like the idea of just enjoying this moment just how it is, and seeing what our new year brings without any expectations – as Lennon & McCartney would say – to just Let It Be.  Taking relaxed time with family and friends will be a treat this year even at a modest scale.  Of course I’ll play the piano too – I’ve had some requests already – so I’ll pull out some seasonal favorites and practice them a bit. (btw, what’s your favorite holiday tune?)

As 2021 winds down, I’m thankful for the positive experiences: two top jazz albums this year, (Transparent Sky 2021 Top Jazz Album at All About Jazz), a new piano, and every day support from family, friends and music lovers around the world.  I’m happy to be here, and yes, I’m looking forward to new experiences in 2022.

Wishing you, your family and loved ones a joyful holiday season, and a happy and healthy new year. 

Lisa

holiday imagery grid including christmas trees, poinsettas, and Lisa with her dog

Thankfully… A Holiday Discount!

November 22, 2021 by Lisa Hilton
Gifts, Holidays, Thanksgiving

Of course with the holiday of Thanksgiving almost here, we are all thinking of our blessings right now, but I think many of us have actually been quietly adding up what we are grateful for all year long. We are all thankful to see family and friends more often this year, thankful to take a few small trips again, thankful to have made it through 2020 despite the tremendous trauma of that year.  I really think we have even been thankful when a week or a month has gone by that was ok or maybe fine. Anything “normal” rates pretty high on our lists this year, right? 
 
So let’s take a moment right now to take a couple nice breaths and feel good right here in the moment.  There will probably be some fun around the corner, or then again, perhaps a new challenge I suppose.  But for now, let’s just celebrate being here and being ok.  It feels like that is enough right now.  I am thankful for that – that you and I and we and a lot of people, are making it through the most memorable couple years of a lifetime.  And… I’ll get to share my home grown berry pie this year with family.
 
So Happy Thanksgiving to you – and many more…..
 
PS…I almost forgot!  My annual Friends and Family Holiday discount will be Nov 23rd-Nov 31st where all CDs will be only $5 (+ shipping and any applicable tax).  I do this to encourage uplifting gifts or stocking stuffers for those around you, or so you can fill out your own collection of music.  Use the coupon: HAPPYHOLIDAYS  Shop here 

All year I have been thankful for friends, family, my piano, my work, healthy food, nature and the beauty of my community. 

Thank You, 
Lisa

image grid of friends, family, piano, healthy food, and nature

Transparent Sky promo image with press quotes "it's beautiful" and "impressive"

‘Tis the Season

October 29, 2021 by Lisa Hilton
Grammys, Luques Curtis, Rudy Royston, Transparent Sky

You might think it’s fall, but for many musicians this time is referred to as “Grammy Season”.  For a few months every year, thoughts are a bit diverted from our usual activities, and a wafting anxiety starts to infiltrate everyday instances as we try and connect with our friends and co-workers hoping to receive enough votes for a nomination.  When artists say they are honored to be nominated, that is really true – it is much harder to get nominated than to win – every nominee has a 20% chance to win, but the chance to get a nomination is much smaller and depends on the number of entrants.
 
Although I would love to receive a Grammy – or like some of the people I work with, a bunch of them – I do have mixed feelings about these awards because in the past there was a lot of “irregularities” with the award process.This year we have a new Grammy CEO, producer Harvey Mason Jr., and I know an effort has been made to improve the voting practices. The Grammy organization made some rule changes too, so we could see some surprises this year – that sounds good, right? 
 
For me, any kind of recognition is a sign that our album is touching and connecting with people around the world, which is the main reason we create music. Whether it’s an award or nomination like a Grammy, or #1 at Amazon, or being near the top of the JazzWeek chart – it’s a “vote” of appreciation for our efforts, and that we are reaching our audience even in this challenging time.  I also feel a responsibility to represent women in a field that has often overlooked women as bandleaders, composers and instrumental musicians, (women are acknowledged most often as singers).  So I’d love to see our album nominated to help even out the male dominated field ever so slightly on a road towards parity: it would feel good to make it a bit easier for your daughter or my niece or girls everywhere in the future.
 
In the meantime? No surprise, I’m back at the piano preparing for our next album – my 25th!   It is a passion and a joy to continue creating music and working with some of the most talented people in the business – Rudy Royston on drums, Luques Curtis on bass and engineers Chandler Harrod, Jay Newland, Larry Mah and Gavin Lurssen.  (I feel lucky to work with everyone – including Leigh Shane, Elizabeth McAlevy, Ryan Nava and Aaron Regan who also contributed their creative talents).  Making music is a daily “reward” for me, but… please still wish us luck for a possible Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album!

Enjoy your fall and Happy Halloween too 🎃! 
Lisa

a halloween image grid of Lisa Hilton and her trio and some pumpkins and pianos

lisa hilton transparent sky cover with quote

new… New… NEW!

September 1, 2021 by Lisa Hilton
Favorite Tracks, summer, Transparent Sky

Late summer has its own vibe, don’t you think? Early summer, (especially this year), had a palpable enthusiasm and euphoria for long sunny days, travel plans and get – togethers with family and friends along with new stuff to wear or do after the inactivity of 2020.  By August it’s hotter, and good luck finding a vacay rental, window seat on a flight, or new sandals you like, right?  But it’s human nature to desire and share something that’s new so in August I like to think of “new” in simpler terms:

– concocting a new recipe (I need a good recipe for anything with blackberries!)
– experimenting with grilled vegetables (BBQ avocados anyone?)
– hiking or biking a less traveled path (I like beach biking)
– reading different kinds of books
– playing music, I don’t normally play (this year Brubeck and Bach)
– tuning in to new music – like Transparent Sky!

Normally we release an album in early December, but this year, (and last year), are different of course, so here we are with new music to share to perk up everyone’s end of summer. It’s out September 3rd and I absolutely think it’s great for road trips, dinner parties, work at home, airport time, carpools, household tasks, happy hours or beach days!  If you are at all interested in jazz, please download/buy right away so you can enjoy it over the last few days of summer and beyond.  I’m not always sure how Amazon charts work, but it is currently #1 Amazon NEW RELEASE/ cool jazz before it’s on sale date – so thank you everyone who is already buying there!  It will also be available on all streaming services after that date and is currently brightening jazz radio playlists around the world. I think we all desire something new and uplifting right now in our lives, and we hope you will enjoy Transparent Sky.

As a composer, there is a fun, and an eternal quest to try and create a new jazz classic that everyone loves. So, what are my favorite new tracks?  I’ve spent a lot of time with each new song – composing, notating, playing, and overseeing the recording, editing, mixing, and mastering, and I absolutely adore Santa Monica Samba as a mood booster, and the love song, Nightingales & Fairy Tales. I also like the groovy vibes of Random Journey and Living in Limbo.  A couple people on my creative team said that Transparent Sky (which I performed as solo piano), really touched them and I’ve heard that people like Fall Upon a Miracle and Infinite Tango, (this one is doing well at jazz radio).  I think my bandmates liked Extraordinary Everyday Things, and my best friend mentioned the cover of God Bless The Child was always one of her favorites after hearing the band Blood, Sweat, & Tears record it. So that just leaves my tune Chromatic Chronicles, but that is a favorite to play with its interlocking blues lines! The truth is there are a lot of favorite tunes on Transparent Sky, and we hope that you enthusiastically enjoy the new music as well as the last few sun bleached days of summer.

– Lisa

collage of lisa's favorite summer things including the beach, bach sheet music, blackberries, and grilled avocados

lisa hilton transparent sky album overlaid on an image of lisa on the beach

Q & A For Transparent Sky

August 17, 2021 by Lisa Hilton
Billie Holiday, Q&A, Studio, Transparent Sky

Q & A with composer/pianist/band leader, Lisa Hilton on her new release TRANSPARENT SKY out Sept 3, 2021 with bandmates Rudy Royston/drums and Luques Curtis/bass

Q.  You, Rudy & Luques recently came out with the acclaimed 2020 release, More Than Another Day. How soon after that were you back in the studio for Transparent Sky?

A.  We recorded More Than Another Day in August 2020 and Transparent Sky in May 2021- so about nine months apart. We all had a bit of extra time on our hands since there has not been any touring, so it was wonderfully normal to be playing again!  I felt incredibly happy to be together and we had a much better experience than we did last August when we were anxious and awkward wearing masks and staying apart.  This year, post vaccines, we could be ourselves and enjoy things.  I have been very thankful that More Than Another Day has been so successful – one of the top recordings at Jazz Week so far for 2021 – but it was a bit stressful to create.  Transparent Sky is very uplifting and has a lot of energy, so we hope listeners will like this one too.

Q.  Is there a concept behind the title?

A.  I think the title refers to how many of us are feeling right now:  If a sunny sky connotes a good future, and a dark sky represents where humanity was in 2020, Transparent Sky has a sense of taking the moment for what it is – and to cherish what we can here and now.  We don’t have any promises for tomorrow, do we? Today looks pretty good though.

Q.  There’s a lot of different kinds of swing and movement on this album – was that intentional?

A.  I always let the music emerge as I compose: I don’t know what I will create and I don’t try and force a direction or try to control it.  What developed was a LOT of movement and richer chords and harmonies this year – which makes sense when you consider how static last year was and how we had less activities – as musicians we need to challenge and entertain ourselves too, so I think that’s why I subconsciously wrote in so many rhythm changes and multiple harmonic directions.  Then of course, it was great fun to have Luques and Rudy add all their ideas and textures too.  Our engineer, Chandler Harrod, did a great job recording and I love hearing all the cool bass and drum additions to the compositions. This music really gets me moving and I love that!

Q.  Was this recording a new direction for you and your trio?

A. I began working in the direction of splicing different rhythms, genres and eras compositionally with our 2014 album Kaleidoscope.  I feel that music of today should have genre mobility – that we prefer multiple ideas and references musically from any era or style, and like the colored pieces inside a kaleidoscope, that life/humanity/music is more interesting because of variety.  Transparent Sky, my band, and our music are examples of this approach: that beauty in our world is created through inclusion – if there were only red squares in a kaleidoscope, it would have no appeal.

Q.  That’s true!   I’m curious, do you bring sheet music scores to the studio or do you just wing it?  Do you rehearse?

A.  When I first began recording, I didn’t use any written scores at all – I just played the tune a couple times and then we recorded – a la the Miles Davis Kind of Blue approach.  But I think it’s kinder to have the sheet music, so now I do all the scores ahead of time in Sibelius: being self -taught it took me a while to master notation software, but now it’s fun for me to create the scores – of course there is always room for improvisation too – the scores are more like skeletons for the band to work from.  We still don’t rehearse though – jazz has never been about perfection – it’s supposed to be a bit loose and capture the energy of the moment, whether it’s partially written or improvised.  In classical music you shoot for perfection, but jazz has the energy that anything can happen at any moment, and for jazz lovers we find that much more engaging and dynamic.

Q.  You included the cover God Bless The Child that was popularized and sung by Billie Holiday.  Tell us about that selection please.

A.  For a long time I’ve been trying to record cover songs by women who were composers, because there is very little attention paid to them in jazz – they are normally identified as singers or instrumentalists.  I’ve recorded tunes by Joni Mitchell, Ann Ronnell and Janis Joplin, and I was surprised that I hadn’t even realized that Billie Holiday had written/co-written several songs.  She is one of the most well – known and enduring jazz recording artists, yet we seem to know a lot more about her love affairs and drug habits than we do about her talents, right? 

Q. That’s true!   Did she write God Bless The Child?

A.   Yes, she was the co-writer with Arthur Herzog Jr.  I’ve read two books and seen a movie about Billie Holiday, and they never highlighted the fact she was a composer!  I think it’s important to give women recognition for all for their talents, and by promoting these talents maybe we will see less discrimination in jazz/classical/opera music.  Thankfully we see more women as bandleaders, producers, instrumentalists and recording engineers, but performing arts centers, opera houses and jazz clubs around the world are still almost entirely focused on presenting music of male composers.  Billie Holiday should be recognized for her skills as a songwriter – it’s a great tune!

Q. Ok, last question that’s on everyone’s mind – do you and your trio plan to perform at all in 2021?

A.  We had planned something for this fall, but we realized there are a lot of restrictions that some venues feel they need to require for performers, staff and audience too this year.  Everyone wants to get back to “normal” but we are not quite there yet, so we are going to be patient for now.  So I’m sorry everyone – we want you to have fun and we don’t want anyone excluded, so we are going to wait a while longer for a live show.

Transparent Sky is available for pre-order August 3rd, 2021 and out Sept 3rd, 2021 at Amazon, Apple Music and LisaHiltonMusic.com

 

lisa hilton at the beach in a white dress and tan hat, in the studio with her band mates, and playing using sheet music at the piano

Photos by Aaron Regan. Band photos by Leigh Shane.

album cover for lisa hilton's transparent sky album. Lisa stands on some stone wearing a white dress and a hat

Lisa Hilton and her Trio with Rudy Royston and Luques Curtis Masterfully Blend Traditions in an Inspiring New Recording

July 28, 2021 by Lisa Hilton
Lisa Hilton, Luques Curtis, Rudy Royston, Transparent Sky

Lisa Hilton’s Transparent Sky is Available September 3/Pre-order Aug 3

As America and other countries re-emerge from the limitations of 2020, Lisa Hilton and her trio with Rudy Royston and Luques Curtis, enthusiastically embrace the moment with a vibrant new jazz offering titled Transparent Sky, that will inspire, uplift and motivate us all. Rich with glorious harmonies and unique compositions, Hilton’s swinging band radiates a sun bleached aura to listeners. Throughout the album Hilton, Royston and Curtis develop a surprisingly wide range of rhythmic ideas from a variety of genres, masterfully blending classic traditions with new approaches and upbeat style.

The recording jumps in with the Latin tinged “Santa Monica Samba,” quickly following with the equally energetic “Random Journey” on this collection of nine originals, plus one cover. “What developed this year was a LOT of movement and richer chords and harmonies – which makes sense when you consider how static last year was. As musicians we need to challenge and also entertain ourselves, so I think that’s why I subconsciously wrote in so many rhythm changes and multiple harmonic directions,” says Hilton. “Living In Limbo,” “Chromatic Chronicles,” “Fall Upon a Miracle” and “Infinite Tango,” highlight the multiple creative rhythms of Hilton’s compositions and showcase ample opportunities for Curtis’s agile bass, and the delightful details of Royston’s drums.

Hilton has a way with ballads, and “Nightingales & Fairy Tales” is no exception. With its slight nod to Bill Evans in the sixties, this has the making of a jazz classic for a twenty – first century audience. In the same vein, a cover of “God Bless The Child,” co-written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr, is a charmer, and like all the tracks here, is skillfully and originally presented without being forced. “For a long time I’ve been trying to record cover songs by women who were composers, because there is very little attention paid to them in jazz. I think it’s important to give women recognition for their range of talents, and by promoting them, maybe we will see less discrimination in music”, Hilton muses.

Slowing towards the album’s end, “Extraordinary Everyday Things” is a calm and expressive soundscape, but with a surprise twist, Hilton finishes up with the title track, “Transparent Sky” as a sonorous piano solo. “The melody is beautiful and has a bit of swing, but the harmonic ideas are quite chromatic and dissonant with overlapping/lingering sonorities between bar lines.” She says. “This piece needs to be played sensitively or it will sound harsh, but that is like our lives today – we are living in sensitive times and need to be aware of how we connect and communicate. The solo piano clearly delivers those delicate harmonies along with the emotions. It’s about accepting our world as it is, whatever may be happening at that moment. Tomorrow will bring what it will, but there is still beauty to be found if we look for it, amid the dissonance of our times.” Hilton explains.

Lisa Hilton’s new album, Transparent Sky, is available everywhere September 3rd, 2021 – Pre-Order August 3, 2021

About Lisa Hilton

Lisa Kristine Hilton is a distinctive composer of jazz, an acclaimed pianist, a bandleader and producer. Growing up in a small town on California’s central coast, she originally taught herself to play piano with a colored keyboard guide, writing her first simple songs around six years, before beginning studies in classical and twentieth century music starting at the age of eight. In college she switched majors from music, and graduated instead with a degree in art. This art background informs her musical creations: she describes “painting” compositions using improvisation, and harmony or “sculpting” with multiple rhythmic ideas from different cultures. Hilton’s music draws on classical traditions, and twentieth century modernists as well as classic American jazz greats such as Cole Porter, Thelonious Monk, and Horace Silver, as well as blues heroes Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. Hilton’s music annually tops the jazz charts and appears on popular shows such as Apple Music’s Pure Jazz Playlist. In the book, “The New Face of Jazz: An Intimate Look at Today’s Living Legends and Artists of Tomorrow” by Cicily Janus, it states that Hilton has been “compared to some of the best pianists in history.” Noting that the overwhelming majority of music performed in jazz clubs and concert halls today are of compositions written by male musicians, Hilton is outspoken about the importance of presenting, and listening, to music composed by women in these fields as well.

lisa hilton wearing a white top and a beige hat

FREEDOM

July 1, 2021 by Lisa Hilton
Holidays, Lisa Hilton, summer

My entire body seems to exhale right now when I say the word  f r e e d o m  in my mind:  FREEDOM…. yes………freedom.  It has more emotional significance on July 4th this year than it did in 2020.  This year we can go to the beach, we can see family and friends safely, and yes, we will BBQ festively and maybe even boisterously, right?  We are shedding the restrictions of last year and stepping into new memories now – thankfully.  We can all feel the intensity of these moments – whether it’s a restaurant meal, travel, or family filling our home again: returning to these freedoms is important for America on Independence Day this year.

So maybe this is the year to really Let Freedom Ring….  bring a guitar on that camping trip, grab a wooden flute or a kazoo, create a Independence Day playlist maybe, or just sing along while you wait for fireworks to America the Beautiful, The Star Spangled Banner, You’re a Grand Old Flag, My Country ‘Tis of Thee… it feels like a good to sing them loud and clear after everything that we went through last year! I’ll start the holiday with my Patriotic Muffins, (blueberry muffin recipe with both frozen blueberries and raspberries), we’ll walk on the beach, (last year the beaches were closed), then have a full table at our family BBQ. July 4th, 2021 is a day we can be thankful for all the freedoms and independence we now enjoy again.

Wishing you good weather, a fun weekend and clear skies ahead!

– Lisa

a fourth of july collage with american flags, red berries, and bicycles

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