Pianist Lisa Hilton Recalls Great American
Composers to Create Lush Musical
Landscapes on New Solo Release, DAY & NIGHT
Available December 16 on Ruby Slippers Productions
Stream Tracks from DAY & NIGHT
For Lisa Hilton,
music and art are always intertwined. Despite formal training in
classical and 20th century piano, the rigor of composition and music
theory, or leading a performance tightrope of improvisation with living
jazz legends, Hilton brings the visual to the forefront when she sits
down to compose. "While Louis Armstrong was performing, Monet was
painting water lilies and French composers like Debussy were using
harmonic 'impressionism.' As a composer today, I explore music as art,
building the composition with musical elements then 'painting' texture
and color through various jazz approaches,"
Hilton explains. "I might apply Seurat's pointillism ideas to
improvisation, creating new ways of expressing our life today."
On Hilton's DAY & NIGHT, she
offers a clear picture of this technique, conveying a deep and rich
emotional view into her musical soul. Hilton utilized improvisation,
blues, modal washes, shifting key centers, and free jazz as well as
impressionism to create a refreshing yet familiar vibe. "I have always
admired our great American composers Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Horace
Silver and Count Basie, who were able to write strong melodies as well
as creating lush musical landscapes."
For
this album, Hilton looked particularly to the great Cole Porter, one
of her favorite composers, for inspiration, (the album title DAY & NIGHT is a nod to Porter's classic, Night and Day). As Hilton noted, "I have always appreciated Cole Porter's strong melodies and gentle Latin rhythms."
Hilton
includes a searing and simple take on Porter's classic, "Begin the
Beguine" which turns wondrously seductive under her touch. Her
original tunes, "Stepping into Paradise," "A Spark in the Night" and "So
This is Love" convey some of Porter's cosmopolitan essence while
including the vibrating energy and bluesy soul of fellow
composer/pianists Count Basie and Horace Silver.
Photo Credit: Ricky Chavez
DAY & NIGHT
begins with the upbeat samba charmer, "Caffeinated Culture" before the
title track delivers its sophisticated drama. "Sunrise" and "Sunset on
the Beach" both feature Hilton as a strong impressionist, one of the
unique qualities of her compositions while "Dark Sky Day" hints of
Hilton's classical training. Hilton has composed her pieces to treat the
traditional in new ways, combining multiple rhythmic and genre ideas as
if to try and shine a different light to the scene of a shared cup of
coffee, a jostle of memories or the simmer of passions held dear to the
heart.
Hilton states, "DAY & NIGHT
echoes my commitment to discover and savor every day moments: to see
the beauty in a day from the first glow of sunrise to the dimming sky at
sunset, and to acknowledge and share these rich times with others."
23-time GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Al Schmitt
lends his masterful talents to these ten tracks that were recorded at
the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood and are a treat for any
audiophile. There is a remarkable intimacy and immediacy that brings you
right inside the sound Hilton has worked with Schmitt and Grammy®
Award-winning engineer Gavin Lurssen, who mastered the album, for over a decade.
About Lisa Hilton
Hilton's body of work includes over 200 recorded tracks and her compositions
draw on classical traditions, American jazz and blues, and the
avant-garde, creating a body of work embracing a rich musical history
while representing the hue and the cry, the modernity and energy of our
current epoch. Hilton's blues-inflected trans-genre or poly-genre style
influences extend beyond jazz legends to include bluesman Muddy Waters
and Robert Johnson, minimalists like Steve Reich, current rockers Black
Keys or modernists Prokofiev and Bartok.
As an independent
artist, Hilton has produced a total of nineteen albums through her
publishing company, as well as having two albums released exclusively in
Asia, and inclusion on several international compilations. Hilton
continues to work with this era's jazz luminaries including Christian
McBride, Nasheet Waits, Sean Jones, Marcus Gilmore, Steve Wilson, Jeremy
Pelt, Lewis Nash, Billy Hart, Larry Grenadier, Rudy Royston, and Bobby
Militello among others. Her most recent release, Nocturnal,
features trumpeter Terell Stafford, tenor saxophonist JD Allen, bassist
Gregg August and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Hilton's music has appeared on international radio charts year after year for over a decade and has
been heard on hundreds of radio stations around the world - including
syndicated programs like NPR's popular "Morning Edition."
To read a Q&A with Lisa Hilton, please click here.
Upcoming Lisa Hilton Performances:
January 10 / Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall / New York, NY
February 3 / The Old Church / Portland, OR
February 9 / Junior Blind of America / Los Angeles, CA
February 18 / The Edye Second Space at The Broad Theater / Santa Monica, CA
March 10 / SFJAZZ - Joe Henderson Lab / San Francisco, CA
April 8 / Berklee College - Dave Friend Recital Hall / Boston, MA
April 11 / The Green Mill / Chicago, IL
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In the Studio with Lisa Hilton For "Day & Night"
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Lisa Hilton · DAY & NIGHT
Ruby Slippers Productions #1021 · Release Date: December 16, 2016
For more information on Lisa Hilton please visit: LisaHiltonMusic.com
For media information, please contact:
DL Media · 610-667-0501
Greg Angiolillo · greg@dlmediamusic.com
Don Lucoff · don@dlmediamusic.com
