twenty first century jazz

It’s definitely Spring Time! In fourth grade I went on a field trip to collect wildflowers and just fell in love with them! So spring time is wildflower time for me: today I headed 2 hours north of Los Angeles to the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve, which I’ve never visited before. What a great spot and a refreshing day. Really fun! You can see more photos on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/lisahiltonmusic/ Thank you to everyone who came out to see the performances […]

Hope you had a nice Holiday weekend! I enjoyed family time, hiking, a movie or too and food of course!  Time to listen to NOCTURNAL – our new release that arrived Wednesday, which was exciting too, (it will be available for sale January 22nd, 2016). I also got time to play piano – so there was MUCH to be thankful for here in still sunny SoCal. Every one has a discounted deal going on right now, but I try and […]

Lisa Hilton with Antonio Sanchez, J.D. Allen, Terell Stafford & Gregg August (photo: George Brooks) Q: What is “trans-genre” music? You mention that some of the music on NOCTURNAL is trans-genre. LH: While I was composing music for NOCTURNAL, there was a media uproar regarding a white woman pretending to be black and a male athlete who transgendered to female. I also saw a comedian in Los Angeles, make us laugh when he noted that soon we’d all be the […]

Hopefully you are making it through the Holiday Season well so far and I hope that you soon will have some time to relax with your loved ones.  I’m sharing this photo of my little 14 year old Italian greyhound Ricky from last year – I’m thankful for every year he’s still with me – he seems to get sweeter as he ages! I’ve been the elf around here after my piano time.  It’s been so busy that this year […]

Hi There! Fall is really here, isn’t it?  I’m excited to tour on the east coast and see some real fall foliage.  Here in SoCal, the only foliage colors are brown from our drought.  I’ll be at The Green Mill Monday Oct 20th at 5:30pm for a benefit for the Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired.  http://greenmilljazz.com/events/530pm-800pm-benefit-for-the-chicago-lighthouse/  Please come by for a fun & casual evening for a great cause.  The Green Mill was voted one […]

Kaleidoscope  CD Media Reviews: Lisa Hilton/piano, J.D. Allen/tenor sax, Larry Grenadier/bass, Marcus Gilmore/drums “An outstanding collection of tunes… Kaleidoscope is full of great music.” JazzTimes.com “The sheer beauty of her playing –the rhythmic acuity, those silky lines –“ Down Beat  “Kaleidoscope pulsates with warm sensuous harmonies, originality & swinging brilliance.” San Diego County News  “One of the finest composers working in jazz today.” Ken Frankling/Jazz Notes April 2014  “Under the deft touch and considerable artistic vision of Lisa Hilton, modern […]

I had a great time at the Dodger game yesterday, though it was too bad we couldn’t quite win that one, (better luck next time Dodgers!)  Like everyone else, I’m planning to grill for the Holiday, also walk on the beach, and watch fireworks. I consider the 4th as halfway through summer, so I like to be sure and relish the time with friends and family while enjoying being outdoors.  What I think about, as I watch the fireworks explode […]

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 […]

Hi There, April 1st is my cute dogs' birthday, so yeah, I had to include a photo of Ricky Hilton here at 14 years old now, and still (one of) the fastest dogs on the beach! Way faster than I am! As you probably know our latest CD, Kaleidoscope has been out to radio for a few weeks now and I wanted to thank EVERYONE who is playing it or will be adding it: WAER,WAWL,WBLU,WCNI,WDBX,WDNA,WDVR,WER 1, WERU,WESS,West Limmerick, WFAS, WFCF, [...]

New Reviews for Lisa Hilton: Kaleidoscope: April 2014 Lisa Hilton/piano, J.D. Allen/tenor sax, Larry Grenadier/bass, Marcus Gilmore/drums “Pianist/composer Lisa Hilton again delivers an outstanding collection of tunes focused on balancing the simple and complex.  Kaleidoscope is full of great music; Hilton and Allen speak the same melodic language and Grenadier and Gilmore push and pull the beat in truly interesting ways…. Pleasing concepts, but refreshingly outside the box.” JazzTimes  “Under the deft touch and considerable artistic vision of Lisa Hilton, […]