March begins my FAVORITE time of year - no not the end of winter - but the start of Composing Season. Every year changing the clocks adds the extra sunlit hours that seem to spur my creativity: so let the fun begin!
Composing is fun? That's a puzzled remark I’ve gotten from folks with raised eyebrows. People visualize composing as a lot of work, and yes, there are times when it takes hours and hours and hours. Just listen though, to what jazz icon and fellow Malibu resident Horace Silver wrote: “No matter how the music comes, it is always fascinating to get involved in the whole creative process of composition.” It is fascinating, and fun, and you are always learning new things and developing as a musician along the way. This sheer passion for composing is why you are not likely to see me do an entire album of arrangements of other composers. I’m sorry if you’ve been yearning for me to put out an album of Christmas tunes, bossa nova’s or traditional standards - I’ve heard those many requests, but in my head is my silly rhyme: “The whole world knows I love to compose!”
In my tiny studio, I am surrounded by the genius of musical masters, represented by hundreds of music books to easily look up Cole Porter or Coltrane, Basie or Bach, and I also have three inspirational photos. The first photo above is of Thelonious Monk: I was lucky to buy this at a charity auction at Bergamot Station gallery in Santa Monica. Monk appears to be on stage at Monterey Jazz Festival with a look of fierce intent - literally sweating it out. To me, Monk was the first modern jazz master because of the timelessness of his ideas. This photo represents creativity, commitment and, well, sweat (aka work ethic). The middle photo is by my friend Ken Franckling who created the photographic book Jazz In The Key of Light. After loving the book, I bought this very stern and serious photo of Miles Davis. Miles represents deep passion and creativity to me in this photo, and he’s giving me an eye to insure I stay committed! The last photo is of Igor Stravinsky by Arnold Newman. This was a big purchase for me, but I have always admired this photo even as a little girl, back in the days when I could never imagine being able to buy art that I admired. Although Stravinsky is not my favorite composer, he is another creative genius of the 20th century, and he represents intellect to me. These three visionary artists characterize creativity, sweat, passion, commitment and intellect in their art, and they are always watching and guiding me.
So why do I call it “Composing Season”? (Yes, it’s my own term!) As a rule, I don’t ask myself to be all things, all the time. In the summer, I am prepping for the studio and recording - that means more notation, more practicing and putting my producers hat on to make decisions on studios, bandmates, etc. After we record, it’s post production: 100 hours of listening for editing choices and guiding the engineers on the sound I’m looking for. I’ll also skill-build at the piano, playing challenging work by Chopin, Liszt, and Beethoven. Falls arrival starts all the endless marketing and media tasks to get an album out around the holidays. After the first of the year, we start to get the feedback on the album: #1 Amazon New Release, and #15 on the Jazz Week chart- YIPPEEEEEE! But I also spend time on my publishing company making sure all my 300 recorded tracks are properly indexed and copyrighted with BMI, Sound Exchange, The Mechanical Licensing Collective, the copyright office and my own catalog at Lisa Hilton Music. So when March comes, it's a big RELIEF to be back in my creative seat at the piano composing jazz!
Every year at the start of my Composing Season, I wonder: what I will create, (and do I still remember how to do this?) 2025 arrived with a lot of distractions, fears and in So Cal, loss and grief after the fires. What should I be writing about? No, I don’t give myself a topic or concept to compose to like you would a school assignment - instead I let the music emerge on it's own without me telling my creativity what to do. As an artist, I just show up...trust the process… spend the time…still questioning what I should be doing…and along the way….I fall in love all over again with the sheer joy and love of composing.
Happy Almost Spring to You!
Lisa
#1 Amazon New Release Cool Jazz
Top Albums of 2024 at All About Jazz, Lucky All Along (Neil Duggan)
TOP 10 JAZZ/December CJSW Radio Canada
Recommended New Release: NYC Jazz Record
#15 Jazz Week Chart
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