Thank you…
Hello and Happy upcoming Holiday weekend…
Memorial Day weekend, besides a time of remembrance, also signifies for many a start to outdoor grilling and better weather generally. I hope that will be true for you as well, although who knows what the weather has in store for any of us! SoCal is back to normal, but we had a week of scary hot temperatures. Along with our ongoing drought, I’m afraid we might be starting a tough fire season, but I hope I’m wrong on that.
The photo above was from the recent marathon – no I didn’t run it, but went to support the people of Boston and their Boston Strong Spirit after last year’s bombing. I had never been there during their “Patriots Day,” and was charmed by the warmth and casual air of the day, the brightly blooming daffodils everywhere and the commitment of the runners. I had a great view near the 26 mile marker, and I admit that I felt nervous about the event, but it really was a perfect day. I travelled again to Boston this weekend for a family event, and coming home none other than the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue cover girl, Kate Upton swapped seats with me so I could sit with my friend! I assure you she is very beautiful and very nice too.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who are supporting our recent release, Kaleidoscope. Wow! JazzWeek Radio chart has us at #35 this week, we’re #5 on the international ZMR chart, we recently debuted on the college CMJ radio chart with a #22, and the very large international chart, RadioDirectx has Kaliedoscope at #75 out of hundreds. Our music is played on over 250 radio stations now and we have also had a many wonderful reviews. We are extremely thankful for everyone who listens to and supports our music. As indie artists, we are lucky to live in the age where we as individuals can support the arts in general and our favorite artists: voicing our support, sharing the artist names & videos, and yep, “liking.” So thank you again, it means a lot to us.
I can hardly believe it myself, but after years of promises, I am now selling sheet music on my website! Here: http://lisahiltonmusic.com/?product_cat=sheet-music you can download pdf’s for four recent tunes after shopping on my cart/PayPal. It has taken this long, because it really is a challenge to create improvisation in the context of sheet music. I feel that I have been able to address that issue pretty well, and now offer these very melodic tunes for pianists, or others. Let me know what you think!
Here are reviews I’d like to share, with more coming from DownBeat, Jazziz, Audiophile Audition, Keyboard and others. These are interesting sites so you might enjoy looking at what they offer:
All About Jazz – “One of the few pianists that can meld the hard bop of Horace Silver with the aphoristic impressionism of Bill Evans.” http://www.allaboutjazz.com/jazz-quanta-may-oran-etkin-by-c-michael-bailey.php
Blog Critics/Jack Goodstein: “There are a lot of great jazz pianists, but Hilton takes a back seat to none of them.” http://blogcritics.org/music-review-lisa-hilton-kaleidoscope/
Icon Magazine/Nick Bewsey: “A whiz bang listening experience.” http://icondv.com/ICON/Nicks_Picks_April_2014.html
JazzTimes: “An outstanding collection of tunes…” http://jazztimes.com/community/articles/125152-lisa-hilton
JazzHistory Online: “….grace and expertise.” http://www.jazzhistoryonline.com/Composer-Pianists.html
Jazz Weekly/George Harris: “Lisa Hilton’s signature style is impressively on display.” http://www.jazzweekly.com/2014/03/lisa-hilton-kaleidoscope/ (A nice new redesign on his site!)
Ken Frankling’s Jazz Notes: “One of our finest composers working today.” http://kenfrancklingjazznotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/cds-of-note-short-takes_28.html
PasaTiempo: “Her playing is dramatic and unique, perfectly abetted by her quartet.”
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/music/cd_reviews/lisa-hilton-kaleidoscope-ruby-slippers/article_eb003c3e-16e4-5fd0-9550-7996bef2f1c8.html
Again, thank you all for your support, spins and love! Have a great Memorial Day holiday weekend!
Lisa