Happy Holidays, (or HOLIDAZE as the case may be),
Just in time for the Holidays my CD Escapism releases DECEMBER 1st! Yeah! My 20th release in 20 years! And yes, I do feel a wee bit overworked, but euphoric too. It is my passion, and I always feel extremely grateful when a new one is released – it really does feel a bit like a new child that you hope goes out into the world and makes a difference in others lives. This CD has myself on piano with JD Allen again on tenor sax, Gregg August on bass, Rudy Royston on drums and Terell Stafford on trumpet. Each CD has a different musical theme and ESCAPISM is about dealing with the challenges in life today by savoring the beauty and uplifting moments that are still there around us. You can get an idea of the energy of the music by the track titles: HOT SUMMER SAMBA, MELTDOWN, ANOTHER EVERYDAY ADVENTURE, TOO HOT, ON A CLEAR DAY, MOJAVE MOON, ZERO GRAVITY, ESCAPE VELOCITY BLUES, 29 PALMS, and UTOPIA CORNUCOPIA. Here is the just out video that was filmed in Joshua tree this month called Mojave Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lz8GApePLc Please share the video around!
CDs are available here my website and I also have sheet music and downloads for sale. The CDs are great as hostess gifts, teacher gifts, co-worker or “last minute” gifts. http://lisahiltonmusic.com/shop-1/ Of course you can always buy on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/escapism/id1300363720 or Amazon too: https://www.amazon.com/Escapism-Lisa-Hilton/dp/B075ZB7L5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511235882&sr=8- If you do get the CD and like it, please write a quick review on Amazon to help us out!
It’s still really early but here are a few reviews already out:
“Escapism blows open your mind and ears….this is a hot, happening date that charts a new course for pianist Hilton. Tasty jamming throughout. Well done.” Midwest Record
“Hilton is excitingly edgy during “Another Everyday Adventure” while showing her swinging digits on “Meltdown.” Her compositions are impressive… her own reading of “On A Clear Day,” is wonderfully dreamy. A Great Escape.” Jazz Weekly
“Hilton’s breadth of creativity and range of ideas are astounding as she reveals the virtuosity of her pianism, musicality and artful sound. Lisa Hilton has a lot to say. So listen. And then listen again.” Sounds of Timeless Jazz
“Truly unique compositions, flawlessly played. Regardless of the tempo, an inherent momentum informs Hilton’s music. Her left -hand has the pounding momentum and synergy of overtones that is so incredible. To say nothing of the right- hand improvising on a theme or taking off into absolutely unexpected and unpredictable places in such a beautiful way. Hilton & company are relentlessly in search of excellence, while achieving it with a frequency that leaves one in jaw-dropping awe.” Hugh “Hurricane” Carson, KVNF radio
“Hilton’s approach is fresh and uninhibited, taking musical paths less trodden and using expressive and unique chords.” Dee Dee McNeil/Musical Memoirs Jazz Journal
“A piano that seduces & captivates; a true passion in motion from the exquisite pianist Lisa Hilton.” Actual Jazz/Uruguay
Hoping You a Wonderful Holiday Season!
Lisa
Twitter: @lisahiltonmusic
Instagram.com/LisaHiltonMusic
Facebook:LisaHiltonMusic
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 in NYC, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Now on to CHICAGO CHICAGO CHICAGO: please try and come out APRIL 11TH/TUESDAY AT 5PM AT BUDDY GUY’S LEGENDS at 700 S. Wabash Avenue – tickets here: http://chicagolighthouse.org/event/jazznight/ A FUN NIGHT of jazz to support the wonderful work of The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired. It would be so nice to see a big crowd there – please share this event with all your friends and family in Chicago. This is my 7th Jazz Night for the Lighthouse and the last show of this tour – please note the venue change and early start time, (this was originally planned for Green Mill). HOPE TO SEE (AND HEAR!) ALL MY CHICAGO FRIENDS!!
It was nice to listen to the show that I did for STRAIGHT NO CHASER podcast with Jeffrey Siegel – great name for a jazz podcast don’t you agree? If you have a few minutes have a listen: “DAY & NIGHT allows Lisa Hilton to keep the spotlight for herself, and she does not disappoint. She has both the chops and soul to keep you constantly listening”. http://straightnochaserjazz.libsyn.com/podcast-565-a-conversation-with-lisa-hilton
If you’re a piano lover like I am this is a good website and a nice review for DAY & NIGHT: “Fully in command of her instrument, Hilton’s touch varies from deep, plush velvet to electrifying extended trills, glissandos and runs up and down the piano keyboard.” MainlyPiano.com http://mainlypiano.com/reviews/lisa-hilton-day-and-night
If you haven’t already, please check out my two albums from 2016: NOCTURNAL as well as DAY & NIGHT – links below.
Take care and enjoy the spring time!
Lisa
https://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Hilton/e/B000AR9EFK
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lisa-hilton/id4614541
https://twitter.com/lisahiltonmusic
https://www.facebook.com/LisaHiltonMusic
H O L I D A Y S!
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 offer a good price at Lisa Hilton Music all year round. With 17 CD’s out, plus 1 vinyl, digital downloads and sheet music, I hope you will find some good ideas to make your Holiday shopping easier!
I’m also getting excited about upcoming tour dates – especially January 17th, 2016 at 2pm at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Perfect acoustics, an awesome piano, and a great band: Ingrid Jensen/trumpet, JD Allen/tenor sax, Ben Williams/bass and Rudy Royston/drums. FUN! I really like to encourage students to all performances, but especially for the matinees. Student tickets (or APAP passes) are available at the Box Office: http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2015/1/11/0200/PM/Lisa-Hilton-and-Friends/ Other dates are coming up for next spring too:
MARCH 4th/Friday/Smothers Hall Pepperdine University/Malibu, CA 8pm
4255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu/ www.arts.pepperdine.edu/ (310) 506-4522 West Coast premier of NOCTURNAL/ SOLO PIANO
MARCH 10th/Thursday /Junior Blind of America, Los Angeles 4pm SOLO PIANO
Performance for special needs students: 5300 Angeles Vista Blvd. L.A. www.JuniorBlind.org
MARCH 12th/Saturday/Classic Pianos Portland, 3:30pm
3003 SE Milwaukie Ave, Portland, OR 97202 (503)546-6522 www.PortlandClassicPianos.net/events SOLO PIANO
MARCH 24th/Thursday/ SFJazz
201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 (826)920.5299 SFJazz.org SOLO PIANO
APRIL 13/Thursday/Chicago Lighthouse for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired
1850 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL 60608 (312) 666-1331 http://chicagolighthouse.org/ A short solo piano performance for special needs students.
There will be more performances coming up in 2016 too of course.
Enjoy your week and the start of the Holiday Season – my favorite time of year!
Lisa
Q&A with Lisa Hilton on NOCTURNAL out January 22
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 color of ‘khaki’. These instances show that our world is not as segmented – not as black and white- anymore, and I think music should reflect that. This whole idea that jazz or any genre of music should adhere to strict guidelines is antiquated. We eat food from all different cultures and we should be able to be cross-cultural in our music too, right? Some of the music I composed on NOCTURNAL takes classical ideas, concepts or forms and are then completed with our jazz concepts of improvisation, free jazz, blues, shifting modal key centers, or poly – rhythms.
Q: Why classical – hasn’t that been done?
LH: Throughout history, many jazz composers that I admire have also worked in classical forms: Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, and George Gershwin to name a few icons. I also liked the idea of working on longer, more emotionally driven works – like John Coltrane did on ‘A Love Supreme’. Composers need variety: I’ve got over 200 tracks on iTunes now – I really enjoyed investigating what I liked best about classical vs. jazz.
Q: Any straight ahead jazz on NOCTURNAL?
LH: Of course – I love that too! The title track ‘Nocturnal,’ ‘Whirlwind’, and a cover of (Ann Ronell’s) ‘Willow Weep for Me’ are very traditional, while ‘Seduction’, ‘Desire’, and ‘Symphony of Blues’ are really bluesy. ‘A Spark in the Night’ has a Latin flavor, (that was the band’s favorite track, btw), while ‘Twilight’ and ‘Midnight Stars’ are examples of impressionism. The Pixie’s ‘Where Is My Mind’ is conceptual I’d say, and ‘An August Remembered’ has a tinge of gospel.
Q: Tell us about the band – you added some new players didn’t you?
LH: I explore different ideas in each album – last year’s HORIZONS was inspired by nature, KALEIDOSCOPE dealt with poly-genre ideas. For NOCTURNAL, I was looking for greater emotional depth, with more complex playing on some tunes. I felt I needed really great players, and I was lucky to get them! I have worked with J.D. Allen on tenor sax for several years – I consider his deep Detroit sound to be the ‘Tenor of our Times’. J.D. introduced me to bassist Gregg August, and I’ve toured a little with him and now we’re recording together too. Gregg has an extensive Latin background, is in the Brooklyn Philharmonic, has a masters degree from Julliard, composes, AND is a great jazz bassist – I knew he could handle anything. I hadn’t met Terell Stafford before, but my trumpeter from last year was touring so I reached out to him and he was perfect – what a beautiful tone, and spirit he has. I had met Antonio Sanchez in the past but, as you know, he tours a lot, and we had never played together. Fortunately I still had his email, and he said yes right away. Everyone is aware of what an amazing drummer he is, and how great his score for ‘Birdman’ was, but playing with him really put me on my toes – he creates so much movement in his playing. Everyone was amazing to work with – the skill level was really up there. Terell said after it was an ‘honor to work with such great musicians’ and I felt the same way.
Q: Did you do anything different on the sound?
LH: I love great sound, so I work with the same engineers every year. They are the ‘Unsung Heroes’ in music: James Farber for recording, multi-Grammy winner Al Schmitt, ‘The God of Sound’ (with Steve Genewick) mixes the albums and multi-Grammy winner Gavin Lurssen mastered my first album and we’re still working together! They are my friends and I look forward to seeing them every year.
Q: What do you like to do best – compose, perform, or produce albums?
LH: I like all those hats, and they really all add up to being a better musician – a more whole person. Even the business side helps you understand music. Most musicians you see perform are primarily performers or players that might compose a little. For me I really HAVE to compose – that is my art form.
Q: Speaking of art, you were a college drop – out in music, but got a degree in art instead. How did that effect your career?
LH: I think it had a bigger emotional impact on me – I loved the piano but the institutional education in SF was stifling creatively, so it felt like walking away from my ‘true love.’ Studying art, art history, and being creative based on visual, rather than aural decisions, has turned out to be really helpful. Music is an art form – it’s not physics. I think a lot about the challenges different artists had when I compose too. I think it has helped me immensely to have a background in art.
Q: You perform at venues like Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, but you also have dates at schools for blind students, music stores or clubs – that’s quite a range there.
LH: I think music should be accessible anywhere: not just for those who can pay for pricey tickets. Every performance is a unique – I like to be open to almost anything – in New Zealand I played in a city park outside once. I love it all! I’m excited about debuting the new music for the first time January 17th at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall though – it will be the first performance of “Midnight Sonata” and other compositions: http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2016/1/17/0200/PM/Lisa-Hilton-and-Friends/
Q: Do you have friends or family that are blind – is that why you go to schools for the blind?
LH: No one in my circle is blind, but I’ve met all kinds of great people who are blind in recent years: lawyers, musicians, and many inspiring individuals. I like to give what I would have liked to have received – growing up in my small town I would have loved to have met a professional musician, but never had that opportunity, so I hope other students enjoy when I visit and perform. I am also aware of a bias today – all musicians play for people who are young or old, black or white, yet few make the effort to reach out to those with disabilities. I think music should be for everyone. Lisa Hilton performs at Perkins School for the Blind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F14YsHvKIK4
Q: Lastly, who are your favorite pianists – who do you listen to?
LH: I try and listen to a wide variety of music: Brad Mehldau or Thelonious Monk for jazz. For classical I listen to Lang Lang and Yuja Wang. For Latin I like Chucho Valdez.
Happy Holidays To YOU!
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 I’m waiting until the last minute to do the cookie baking, which means that I’m going to be pushed for time very soon – sound familiar? I’ve been preparing for our performance at Carnegie Hall January 11, 2015 at 2pm – hope you can come! (Please pass the link on if you have friends that might be interested). I’ll be there with JD Allen on tenor sax, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Ben Street on bass and Rudy Royston on drums If you’ve never been to a performance at Carnegie before, I think it’s time for you to come, don’t you? : http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2015/1/11/0200/PM/Lisa-Hilton-and-Friends/ We will be debuting new music from our new 2015 release H O R I Z O N S which I’m extremely excited about. Here is the very new video from HORIZONS: The Sky and the Ocean: http://youtu.be/2WlTblOPs1c and a solo piece from the album from a live video at Cornell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3B4et-OcDE When it Rains.
Wishing everyone Holidays filled with riches: love, friendship, family, art, music, nature, and peace,
Lisa
Happy Fall…..
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 of the Top Jazz Venues by Down Beat Magazine – you’ll love the vibe there!
I’ll be at Cornell University too – see their screen above with the photo by Steven Lippman. This is hosted by the University on Wednesday, Oct 29th at 7:30 in Barnes Hall – a historic building with terrific acoustics. The super radio host, Eric Cohen of WAER/Syracuse will introduce the evening, and I hear there are even refreshments after! Please come if you can: http://events.cornell.edu/event/lisa_hilton
For those of you planning ahead, PLEASE don’t miss our Debut of our new album, H O R I Z O N S at Weil Hall at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, January 11th, 2015 in NYC. I’ll be there with JD Allen on tenor sax, Rudy Royston on drums and Ben Street on bass. If you’ve never been to a performance at Carnegie before, I think it’s time to try and make one, don’t you? I’m really excited to share the NEW music then: http://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2015/1/11/0200/PM/Lisa-Hilton-and-Friends/
And for those who’ve been thinking about heading to Las Vegas, come May 15 or 16th 2015! http://www.thesmithcenter.com/events/dates/2015-05-15/
Good news – on the pre-Grammy Ballot our release is representing great engineers and for best jazz improvised solo from “Kaleidoscope”. Wish us luck please! You can listen here: https://soundcloud.com/lisahiltonmusic
Lastly – so many challenges in our world right now, but I wish you and those around your peace and health and a Happy Halloween too!
Take care,
Lisa
www.lisahiltonmusic.com
P.O. Box 6368, Malibu, CA 90264
“Kaleidoscope” Media Reviews
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 and traditional jazz come together as one. Nine of the eleven tunes on Kaleidoscope are originals further solidifying Hilton as a composer of note. Hilton moves effortlessly between classical and jazz. There is a shift, a lyrical and harmonic adjustment within the more traditional ranks of jazz and Lisa Hilton is now leading the charge. A formidable quartet with adventurous original compositions banged out by some of the finest musicians of our time. It doesn’t get much better than this”. Brent Black/Critical Jazz
“Lisa Hilton doesn’t disappoint, delivering a whiz-bang listening experience.” ICON Magazine
“Exceptional artistry.” Jeff Tamarkin/Jazz Times Magazine/May 2014
“Lisa Hilton’s signature style is impressively on display.” George Harris/JazzWeekly
“Lisa Hilton is a jazz musician of incredible sensibility and nuance.” Hugh Carson/KVNF
“One of the few pianists that can meld the hard bop of Horace Silver with the aphoristic impressionism of Bill Evans.” C. Michael Bailey/All About Jazz
“Here is another first rate saxophone/piano conventional quartet, in this case led by the beautiful composer/ pianist Lisa Hilton who’d have trouble these days convening a more impressive quartet of working wonders for her music. One of the most immediately likable of all contemporary jazz composers.” Buffalo News
“LOVE IT! Nice arrangements/feel/music. I really like the composed/impressionistic aspects.” WUOT Radio
“Superb new album by Lisa Hilton.” EJazzNews
“Kaleidoscope is as satisfying a jazz piano record as you’ll find today.” About.com jazz review
“We play a boat-load of Lisa Hilton’s music. Kaleidoscope is generating a ton of buzz.” KSDS
“This is a pianist that gets your attention and keeps it. She plays with a depth of feeling that uses all the colors of her instrument. There are a lot of great jazz pianists, but Lisa Hilton takes a back seat to none of them. Hilton has her own voice and she makes sure it is heard. Kaleidoscope is an album you will want to hear.” World News
“Gorgeous playing, highly impressionistic–every instrumental voice sharing the spotlight.” WTJU Radio
“A true musical Kaleidoscope… artfully composed.” Sounds of Timeless Jazz
“Hilton is more than “rising”, she’s already a jazz star that shines bright in a world where there are far too many pretenders…This CD comes MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED” Improvijazzation Nation
“There are a lot of great jazz pianists, but Hilton takes a back seat to none of them.” BlogCritics/Jack Goodstein
“Quite beautiful.” NewsFiber.com
“Incredible sensibility.” WeAreJazz.com
“Grace & expertise.” JazzHistory
“Kaleidoscope is as satisfying a jazz piano record as you’ll find today.”About.com/Jazz
“Passionate and nuanced touch on that keyboard.” Trish Hennessey/Hybrid Jazz
“A Kaleidoscope shifting its colorful pieces to create a new vision….” Black Musicians Magazine
“Wonderful, subterranean, enthralling & beautiful.” Gary Lowe/WUNH Radio
“Fun, power, passion and nuance in a refreshingly clear manner.” Accent on Tampa
“Hilton continues to shine with her abilities to embrace an instrument that has no obvious limits.” SoloPiano.com
“Her playing is dramatic and truly unique, and she is perfectly abetted by her quartet – mates.” PasaTiempo
Happy Independence Day!
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 here in America on Independence Day, is that we are lucky to have festive explosions here instead of the real explosions endured in many countries around our war – torn world, and I am thankful for that.
I have been relatively quiet in June, happily composing and “playing my vegetables” – my term for diligently working on the technical aspects for my piano playing. Not quite as fun as composing, (my “dessert”), but I still enjoy the technical side of the piano too. It’s nice to spend the time on the fundamentals, and to feel the growth that comes from that. I will also be putting together more tour dates soon – I’ll be in Chicago at the Green Mill 10/20/2014, Cornell University 10/29/2014, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall again 1/11/2015, and Las Vegas 5/15 & 5/16 2015, but I’ll keep you posted on these and more dates later this summer. If you’ve never been to Carnegie Hall, or you’ve been thinking about a Vegas trip, mark these dates down and come say hi, ok?
Our recent CD, “Kaleidoscope” is still enjoying lots of radio airplay, and we just love that support! DownBeat Magazine posted a wonderful review by Jon Garelick: “….the sheer beauty of her playing – the rhythmic acuity, those silky extended lines…” was such a nice surprise in this month’s July issue – thank you DownBeat! If you are interested in buying the CD, I noticed they have a (cheap) promotional price at Amazon right now, (at least today): http://www.amazon.com/Kaleidoscope-Lisa-Hilton/dp/B00I8DI08U that beats iTunes even!: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/kaleidoscope/id808942441
btw, for those interested, I thought the New York Times article on the great jazz pianist, and former Malibu resident, Horace Silver was the best coverage: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/arts/music/horace-silver-85-master-of-earthy-jazz-is-dead.html?_r=0
If you missed the Sixty Minutes segment on jazz pianist Marcus Roberts, (interviewed by Wynton Marsalis), it’s definitely worth it: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/the-virtuoso-marcus-roberts/
I loved seeing/hearing the classical/urban mix of cellist Yo Yo Ma play while Lil Buck danced to The Swan:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcRyF2t-WJE – quite cool if you ask me!
And finally, you’re going to love this – the great tenor sax man – and my friend, J.D. Allen playing Stardust – solo. Who needs anything more than this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx9qdJc9wm8 I love his deep, deep tenor tone!
ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY!
Lisa
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