Good News ... Happy Upcoming Spring!
- lisahiltonmusic
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
It’s hard to believe that spring is almost here! I hope that great weather will be here soon!
I wanted to catch you up on a busy month here - wonderful news for us recently: our latest album Extended Daydream is now #3 on the JazzWeek chart which charts the amount of radio and streaming for all jazz albums currently out. This is quite an honor for us. You might have heard that on Jan 31st the album Lucky All Along won two World Entertainment Awards, and I also am a semi -finalist in a song writing competition for jazz. When I compose every spring, I spend hours and hours and months by myself at the piano hoping that the music I am creating will touch the world positively, so to see that the music we then recorded as a band is having a positive impact really touches me, and I am feel very grateful for these honors and wanted to share the good news with you. ☺️
Would you like to listen to a podcast discussing creativity? I recently did the podcast Now Hear This and I felt there were some very good questions that were asked so, maybe you might enjoy listening. It’s available anywhere you listen to podcasts.
And speaking of creativity, I have included this Q & A below just in case you were interested in how an album gets put together.
Wishing you a great upcoming start to spring!
Lisa
🎵 Part II of a Q & A with Lisa Hilton 🎵
Q: Congratulations on making the London Times for one of the best jazz albums of the year, #5 at Jazz Week, two recent World Entertainment Awards as well and your ISC nomination! That must all feel great!
LH: Well we made The London Times and The Malibu Times, my hometown paper in the same week – so yes, it has been fun to feel the encouragement from jazz lovers everywhere for our album, Extended Daydream. As musicians we always hope to touch others positively around the world, so it always does feel good to know when we are connecting with others – to me that is the kind recognition that we are always hoping to create, and are thankful to feel the support from listeners, writers, music directors and judges too.
Q: You have said that you never rehearse for a recording session, and you record with without overdub corrections – can you tell us why you prefer this method and if how you feel about A.I. in the music industry?
LH: Jazz doesn’t need to be “perfect” – I think that’s the aim of classical music, not improvised music – and if you compare jazz and classical they have a different energy because of those “imperfections” in the improvisations. I’ve always I liked notes that are bent or squished or a bit tangy or mangled - I love those imperfect sounds! We play a tune through, we try some variations and then we move on to something new. This is very natural approach for musicians – we like variety – but this approach does keep us all on our toes to perform well in the moment. These days I do notate sheet music for the band, although my first few albums I didn’t even do that, but now I think it’s just kinder to provide music for the band to look at. The scores I give them show what the piano is probably going to do, then they can make their own musical choices in collaborating - but of course things often change form along the way too. It’s always fun to see the new directions the band might go while improvising. The most beloved music in jazz history was created in a fairly similar fashion to the way we record, so we take inspiration from those legendary mid - century recordings - like the1959 album by Miles Davis, Kind of Blue that So What was on. As for the use of A.I. I think it’s a great tool, but in jazz, even if you don’t know if something is real or not, I think you can feel the difference – what we do is real.
Q: How long did it take you to record the eleven tracks?
LH: I think we normally record in about six hours + lunch and breaks. It always seems like a bit of a miracle, but we enjoy a full and creative day! Sometimes I read about bands practicing the music for two weeks in a studio ahead of time – whew – that is not how we do it! It’s a very fun and high energy day for us – always my favorite day of the entire creative year.
Q: You mentioned Miles Davis - can you share why you recorded So What to open your album? Was it intimidating performing an iconic track like that?
LH: I wanted to dig into it and get to know this beloved composition better. What was composer/trumpeter Miles Davis doing on this piece musically? I like to think about what the musicians at the time were exploring, and I thought the band would have a lot of fun recording it too, so I wasn’t thinking that it was intimidating until we actually started Take 1 in the studio – that’s when I had a momentary flash when I was unsure about the choice – like YIKES what am I doing here - but it was too late then! So I started with a longer modal improvised introduction and then felt good just accompanying what Luques, Igmar, JD and Rudy were playing which was along the lines of what Bill Evans had done on the recording but from my musical perspective. But that very first take was the one we used on the session – it’s got a lot of power, nuance and some explosive creative energy in it. That take was probably my favorite studio moment I’ve ever experienced too!
Q: So it sounds like you were glad you did recorded it then. You have also mentioned that some of your own compositions on the album reflected the challenges in Southern California with the large Palisades and Altadena fires. In what way did they inspire this recording?
LH: For many people around the world, 2025 started with challenges. Knowing so many people who were affected by the SoCal fires directly (my home was not affected but the homes of three family members and many friends and businesses that had structures that burned), made me think of our global challenges too. But in nature and in our communities, we can still find and nurture hope – in a sunset or a daydream or a day on the beach with a friend watching the seabirds floating overhead. Life, just like jazz, isn’t perfect, but we hope that people everywhere can hear peace, and beauty and compassion and uplifting energy.
If you have a moment, it’s always kind and supportive to put up a review on Amazon - link below. :)