Inside The Music Of Our New Album

Fall is here, and so is our new album!

Every year at this time it seems a bit of a miracle that we have a new album to share with the world. It represents about 9 months of work + post production, and then it’s HERE! 

How do I feel?  Relieved is the biggest emotion, certainly hopeful that it will lift others spirits and lives is in there too. On this recording, I feel really proud of how our band played and the incredible sound from our engineers. Thankful to have my incredible band again.  Actually, I feel very thankful to all the creative individuals who work on all my albums. Aaron Regan who has now design albums 22 albums for us, and my new photographer Robert Smith - don’t you think he takes amazing photos? My sound engineers: Fernando Lodeiro, Jacob Kell, the crew at EastWest Studios, Jay Newland, Larry Mah, Eric Boulanger and the crew at The Bakery Los Angeles at Sony Studios. 

I truly love so many cool things that our band: JD Allen on tenor sax, Igmar Thomas on trumpet, Luques Curtis on bass and Rudy Royston on drums and percussion, did. My fav recording moment of my entire life was when we recorded the Miles Davis 1959 cool jazz classic, So What for this album. First, let’s acknowledge that just recording a tune made famous by the greatest musicians of jazz: Miles along with John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb and Cannonball Adderley is not for the faint of heart. But I loved the composition and thought it would be great for my band mates. Still…. I really did not know how it would go.  I decided to start with a gentle modal piano intro that took us into the famous introductory riff, and before long the band was off and running - exploring all the possibilities the tune inspires and generously allows. In the studio, the band is all facing me, so I felt enveloped in the extraordinary depth of the sounds around me - while I was still accompanying too! And yes, the first take, without any rehearsal was the take we used. 

But there are so many auditory experiences on the album - the gentle spirit you hear in Extended Daydream, Seabirds and Spacious Skies that speak to us of nature and the cool vintagey vibes from Momentary Mystery and Here & There & Back & Forth.  Then there’s the upbeat energy of Tropical Tuesday, Sunset Tale and It’s Just For Now.  And Blues on the Beach refers to our fires in SoCal that burned all the way down to the ocean - on a beautiful sunny day. I always like to explore great composers of all eras, so on this album I included the tune Wildflowers by the singer/songwriter Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell.  Billie Eilish not only is a great singer but a superb songwriter - this tune really stands out even without any words. I asked Igmar to play his trumpet with a mute for this song about regret and I think it touches the emotional core of this tune. One of my favorite spots on the entire album is when Igmar’s improvisation in the moment effortlessly hits the high last note and holds it. Other favorite spots include JD’s beautiful tone on Extended Daydream, several of Luque’s wonderful intros and Rudy just sounded great on everything! 

Here is our new video Seabirds by my friend director Keith Rivers.  I was trying to capture the freedom that birds have - flying high above us seemingly with out earthly worries - I feel that we too can let our spirits also soar - despite what might be going on in our lives. 

Now it’s time for the rest of the world to listen and enjoy. It’s out on Black Friday/Nov 28th but you can pre-order now. If you want to stream it, it will be on all streaming services everywhere on 11/28 - but I heard you can check Apple Music - or maybe other sites too - at 9pm on Thanksgiving Day if you want to hear it first. We hope you and the world love the music and feel the intent and energy we created recording this music in August of this year. 

Wishing you a great upcoming Thanksgiving and sunny skies wherever you are!

Lisa

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Thank you for the kind words about Extended Daydream….

“Hilton always brings an abundance of the feel-good factor to her recordings, qualities that combine with her cross-genre appeal to make this album another winner. The quintet proves essential to the album's success, contributing both improvisational energy and subtlety as they navigate the shifting moods of these inventive compositions.” 

Neil Duggan, All About Jazz

"Pianist and composer Lisa Hilton has carved out a career as not only an impressive pianist with her own sound, but one able to write fresh and personal material too.....Like all great artists, Hilton continues to take on new worlds to explore with the latest album on this impressive journey. "  Jazz Weekly

“Renowned for her lyrical touch, inventive compositions, and ability to reinterpret jazz standards with a fresh perspective, Hilton continues to cement her reputation as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary jazz. With Extended Daydream, Lisa Hilton and her quintet deliver an album that is at once sophisticated, genre-fluid, and emotionally resonant—a testament to the enduring power of jazz and Hilton’s mastery as a pianist and composer.”  Jazz Chill 

“Beautifully crafted and expertly impassioned new recording…” Exclusive Magazine