Lisa Hilton - AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS (CD)

“A deeply expressive style, appealing impressionism.” –DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE

"An impressive disc. Hilton displays remarkable creativity." The Jazz Messenger

"The musical symmetry and oneness is surreal. The band's music is complex yet filled with rhythmic joy." KKJZ Radio Los Angeles

"Hilton displays an effortless command of harmonic changes while allowing the individual performers to chart their own melodic course with ease. An incredible offering. One of the years best." Critical Jazz

LISA HILTON | piano
NASHEET WAITS | drums
J.D. ALLEN | sax
LARRY GRENADIER | bass

TRACK LISTING:
1. Too Hot
2. Anatomy of the Blues
3. When It Rains
4. Subway
5. Accidental Romance
6. Rainy Night House
7. Waterfall
8. Slow Down
9. Underground
10. Echoes of Harlem
11. Don't Stop
12. American Suite

The pianist, composer and producer Lisa Hilton releases American Impressions – her 14th album as a leader and second with her band featuring, J.D. Allen on tenor saxophone, Larry Grenadier on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. In the spirit of George Gershwin, Aaron Copland and other American composers, Hilton’s second release with this ensemble focuses on impressions of everyday life in America.

“These compositions each began as musical explorations of melody, dissonance, improvisation, but at a certain point became evocative of a specific experience, subject or emotion,” states Hilton. She refers to her instrument as her “true voice” – the means through which she speaks and connects: “When I play, I’m communicating our world through the notes.” Inspired by artists as diverse as Count Basie, Muddy Waters, Steve Reich, and Green Day, Hilton chooses a natural musical palette for an authentic and expressive sound. “As an American composer and pianist, I embrace or reference our great traditional music: jazz, blues, minimalism, Americana, and our songbook of standards, in a way that is thoroughly embedded in the twenty-first century.”

Returning to Avatar Studios this past January with the same ensemble she used for the critically-acclaimed, Underground, Hilton says, “Larry brings a NorCal flavor, however subtle, which has its own brand of jazz and blues history. He is very textural in his playing, which is a good foil for my piano,” she notes. JD Allen was selected thanks to his “warm, expressive tone and deep Detroit roots. I think JD has the richest tenor tone in the history of the instrument, and has his own rhythmic sense and style,” she explains. Nasheet Waits is “one of the most creative drummers on the scene today. I am always surprised by my band mates – all leaders in their own right – and by what they add,” says Hilton. “We don't overdub or fuss much with the tracks… If you work with great people, you don't need to do too much.” As for the recording process itself, “I care about the take that has the most soul, not the ‘perfect’ take.”