Los Angeles Event for Special Needs Students 3/10
Happy January 22nd – our Official Release Day!
We are very excited today! For us the release of NOCTURNAL represents months of creative passion, HOURS of rapt attention to detail, and two days of recording bliss. Truly the best band ever: Antonio Sanchez on drums (well known for his Birdman score), once again the deep Detroit tenor sax sound of JD Allen and the Julliard trained Gregg August on bass, and the addition of the virtuosic Terell Stafford on trumpet, as well as my piano too. After seventeen albums of compositions, I decided on my eighteenth to dig for more emotional depth and length on some tunes too, and I ended up enjoying the composing time more than ever. We’re proud of how it came out and we hope the world enjoys it. We’ve gotten a few early reviews:
-“SIMPLY PHENOMENAL.” KVNF Radio
–“Traditional modern jazz is represented by a contemporary style, and newly recorded by the long-awaited quintet of Lisa Hilton. Antonio Sanchez on drums, in front of JD Allen tenor, along with the wonderful trumpet of Terrell Stafford, and Gregg August on bass – mainly original songs with a fresh melodic beauty – her piano it’s great”. HMV.com
– “A collection of hard-hitting originals… her strongest outing yet.” George Harris/JazzWeekly
– “No one plays, writes or puts together a band better than this great, talented lady! NOCTURNAL is another in a growing list of deep excellent works from Hilton.” Russ Davis/Voice of America
– “Lisa Hilton has done a remarkable job.” The New York Jazz City Record
-“Highly anticipated….” New York Cool
– “What a wonderful album.” Exploring Jazz/WUNH
–“Speaks subtly of Satie and sublimely of Ellington…. Hilton has put together the right band and chosen the right repertoire to demonstrate her treasure trove of musical influences….” About.com
-“Remarkable emotional depth and clarity from all band members…” World Jazz News
-“Hilton’s compositions and melodies bear repeat listening sessions. I found myself returning to this CD several times…” Audiophile Audition
– “Composer/pianist/bandleader Lisa Hilton composes distinctive originals that are influenced by a wide swath of music.” Dan Ouellette/Zeal!nyc
Here are a couple spots where you can check out the album: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nocturnal-Lisa-Hilton/dp/B017Y6AQRE iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nocturnal/id1058965612 or www.lisahiltonmusic.com or you can listen to a few tracks here: https://soundcloud.com/lisahiltonmusic
We had a wonderful time last week debuting the new music at Carnegie Hall – see photo/video here:https://www.facebook.com/LisaHiltonMusic . We’ll be at Pepperdine, in Malibu, CA, March 4th/Friday, Junior Blind of America March 10th, Classic Pianos/Portland March 12th and SF Jazz March 24th. We will add some more dates too. See more info here: http://lisahiltonmusic.com/tour-3/
Enjoy your weekend, and please let us know what you think of the new music if you get a chance.
Lisa
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
Performing at Perkins School for the Blind
Lisa Hilton’s Jazz Rings True for Students Who Are Blind
Renowned composer/pianist pays a visit to Perkins School for the Blind.Watertown, Mass. – It was an unlikely time and place for jazz. Just before noon on a Friday at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, pianist and composer Lisa Hilton took the stage in Dwight Hall to bring her music to 100 students, staff and guests. Before she began, she did something artists rarely do. She asked her audience to tell her at the end of the one-hour performance which piece would be the favorite. (Click here for short video.) Based in Malibu, California, Hilton had come to Watertown on October 16 following recording sessions in New York City. She debuted new compositions from the upcoming, Nocturnal, which were warmly received, and played several others reflecting nature. Her foremost attention, however, was on the students in the audience. Many were music students that she had met on her prior visits to the school. On this day, she played for them a sweet bluesy jazz number she began composing when she was just a teenager herself.
“When a musician, artist, scientist or any expert meets students where they are,” says Pat McCall, Interim Superintendent at Perkins, “the students respond with enthusiasm. You could hear it in their applause and in the easy way they spoke to Lisa.”
Hilton has a strong bond with young people who are blind or visually impaired. In addition to her numerous trips to Perkins for concerts, collaborations and workshops, she also works with Junior Blind of America in California, the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, and the Berklee College of Music Assistive Music Technology Lab for Blind and Visually Impaired Musicians. She sees her music as a way to connect. “This is a wonderful audience, wonderful school and students,” says Hilton. “I would like to just get the word out …that we need to reach out in our community. I think that so many people would like to make the world a better place… I would suggest maybe look in your own community.”
Having come to jazz in adulthood after studying classical music as a child, Hilton can relate to the young musicians she has met in her travels. “Music for anybody – or any kind of art – is an individual path… it will lead you to interesting places.”
And what were the audience’s favorite numbers at the end of the performance? Shouts went up in favor of every one. When it comes to live music in the middle of the day, everyone wins.
Perkins School for the Blind, founded in 1829 as the first school of its kind in the US, is a multifaceted organization working around the world to prepare children and young adults who are blind with the education, confidence and skills they need to realize their full potential.
Learn more at www.Perkins.org
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