Lisa Hilton
often settles in at her piano and riffs on everyone from Miles Davis and Horace
Silver to The Black Keys and Green Day, until she can find peace within the
notes, letting them fill the room and fall where they languish in this glow of
calm with a touch of brooding blues. Then this past year, the world changed a
bit and finding that calm seemed a little more elusive.
"Everything
is charged with politics, a large portion of our world seems to be emigrating,
and climate catastrophe seems constant," Hilton says. "There's been
so much turmoil lately; we can't find a sense of peace surfing the internet or
social networks--we need really positive sources to balance out this time of
disruption in our lives."
For her 20th
album--Hilton has recorded an album a year since 1997--she wanted to provide
uplift and relief, where listeners can be energized and feel rejuvenated. This
became the theme for her latest release, the aptly titled Escapism. The album
includes the Alan Lerner and Burton Lane standard, "On A Clear Day"
and nine Hilton originals ranging from the high-voltage opener, "Hot
Summer Samba" to the introspective and ethereal "Mojave Moon."
Each composition seems to generate, by albums end, a mental release or escape
all its own.
"Artists
have an important role in our culture and community--it is through art and
music that our souls and spirits can be energized, balanced and entertained--we
all need to "escape" from our challenges. I want our music to be a
positive force whether you're listening on the subway, while at work or
lounging on a tropical island. Our music embraces the good experiences in our
world."
After
working solo on last year's Day & Night release, Hilton brought back
saxophonist JD Allen, trumpet and flugelhornist Terell Stafford, bassist Gregg
August and drummer Rudy Royston into Avatar Studios for one of the last
sessions at that revered and storied studio before it became property of
Berklee College of Music on September 1st. "It was definitely nostalgic
being at Avatar the last few days before it changed ownership since no one
really knows what will happen to it--we hope good things. I have recorded ten
albums there and I love the rooms, they have a special sound and ambience. I
think the entire band knew this recording was a time to savor the sense of the
place--there were excellent solos going on, and we had a great sound captured
by our engineer, a true sound icon, James Farber. What tremendous musicians and
all leaders in their own right--I feel so fortunate to continue to work again
and again with them."
Escapism is
an audiophile's delight from the team of top engineers that Hilton has worked
with for years; besides recording engineer Farber, it was mixed by 23-time
Grammy® Award-winning engineer Al Schmitt at the legendary Capitol Studios in
Hollywood and mastered by multi-Grammy® Award-winners Gavin Lurssen and Reuben
Cohen.
The opening
track, "Hot Summer Samba," twirls in multiple Latin rhythms and
melodic ideas that Hilton composed to start the album moving; a
loosening-up-of-the-collar/inhibitions tune, so-to-speak. That track segues
into the fast-paced trio work of "Meltdown." Hilton's melodic touch
is evident in "Another Everyday Adventure," and the closer "Utopia
Cornucopia," both soundtracks to finding wonderland anywhere, anytime and
where you least expect it.
Although
Hilton does not record many covers, her arrangement of Lerner & Lane's
classic "On A Clear Day" calms and inspires, suggested by the unsung
lyrics "On a clear day...you'll feel part of every mountain sea and
shore." The track highlights her excellent trio mates while showcasing
Hilton's ability to the interpret classics in new ways. The jaunty solo piece,
"Escape Velocity Blues," seems to channel Neal Hefti and Count Basie,
but is all Hilton with her signature touch on the keys. The beauty of Allen's
tenor sax and Stafford's clear flugelhorn, alongside her own performance, shine
through on "Zero Gravity." The tracks "Too Hot" and
"29 Palms" are envelopes to a different kind of space, reaching in
evocative and seemingly narrative directions.
With all
that continues to change in our world, Escapism seeks a journey that is focused
on the feelings and positive energy it creates. Hilton allows this journey to
be constructed and articulated through her written compositions evoking a
sentiment of peace, tranquility and upbeat energy.
Hilton's
blues inflected trans-genre or poly-genre style influences extend beyond jazz
legends Thelonious Monk, Count Basie, Horace Silver and Duke Ellington, to
include bluesman Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, minimalists like Steve Reich,
current rockers Black Keys or modernists Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Bartok.
Originally from a small town on California's central coast, Hilton studied
classical and twentieth century piano formally from the age of eight, where she
was inspired by her great uncle, Willem Bloemendall, (1910-1937), a young Dutch
piano virtuoso. In college though, due to the lack of creativity in the
program, she became a music school drop out, switching majors and receiving a
degree in art instead. Ever since becoming a professional musician, this
background in the fine arts has well informed Hilton's composition process.
Committed to
helping students who are often overlooked, for many years Hilton has regularly
spent time to help blind students at the Perkins School for the Blind in
Boston, The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired,
The Junior Blind of America in Los Angeles, Camp Bloomfield for the Blind in
California, or The Berklee College in Boston and their adaptive music lab for
visually impaired musicians. "I enjoy extending help to those with
physical disabilities - music should be for everyone," Hilton explains.
No comments:
Post a Comment