Lisa Hilton - Transparent Sky (CD)

#1 AMAZON NEW RELEASE/JAZZ
ALL ABOUT JAZZ: TOP ALBUMS OF 2021
One World Award Nomination/Jazz

Track List:

1)SANTA MONICA SAMBA

2) RANDOM JOURNEY

3) NIGHTINGALES & FAIRY TALES

4) LIVING IN LIMBO

5) GOD BLESS THE CHILD

6) CHROMATIC CHRONICLES

7) FALL UPON A MIRACLE

8) INFINITE TANGO

9) EXTRAORDINARY EVERYDAY THINGS

10) TRANSPARENT SKY

Review
“A new and vibrant jazz album for Lisa Hilton, and her gorgeous trio formed by Rudy Royston and Luques Curtis. Essential for a sophisticated go to, this music is pure joy with blue notes and neo classical structures. Rich in glorious harmonies and unique compositions, the pianist's music is complex and quite original, not safely falling into any preconceived category except as modern jazz rich in minimalist shades. With a variety of genres masterfully mixing African American traditions and elegant jazz with new approaches and an optimistic style. Perfect sound, sweet, experimental enough, for a surprisingly wide range of musical ideas.” --WindOut Magazine/Italy

“I don’t actually like this particular CD…. I LOVE IT! I love the fact that Ms. Hilton keeps the traditional jazz sound alive while adding her own flare to it. Love the way it makes me feel… The Lisa Hilton Trio plays music that sparkles and hits you right where it's needed. FANTASTIC!!” --JazzZone

“Hilton’s philosophy of new ideas tied to older heartbeats, countered effusively by an actively improvisational impressionism, has resulted in a discography brightly colored with real beauts…” --All About Jazz

Lisa Hilton and her trio with Rudy Royston and Luques Curtis, enthusiastically embrace the moment with a vibrant new jazz offering titled Transparent Sky, that will inspire, uplift and motivate us all. Rich with glorious harmonies and unique compositions, Hilton’s swinging band radiates a sun bleached aura to listeners. Throughout the album Hilton, Royston and Curtis develop a surprisingly wide range of rhythmic ideas from a variety of genres, masterfully blending classic traditions with new approaches and upbeat style.

The recording jumps in with the Latin tinged "Santa Monica Samba," quickly following with the equally energetic "Random Journey" on this collection of nine originals, plus one cover. “What developed this year was a LOT of movement and richer chords and harmonies – which makes sense when you consider how static last year was. As musicians we need to challenge and also entertain ourselves, so I think that’s why I subconsciously wrote in so many rhythm changes and multiple harmonic directions,” says Hilton. "Living In Limbo," "Chromatic Chronicles," "Fall Upon a Miracle" and "Infinite Tango," highlight the multiple creative rhythms of Hilton’s compositions and showcase ample opportunities for Curtis’s agile bass, and the delightful details of Royston’s drums.

Hilton has a way with ballads, and "Nightingales & Fairy Tales" is no exception. With its slight nod to Bill Evans in the sixties, this has the making of a jazz classic for a twenty - first century audience. In the same vein, a cover of "God Bless The Child," co-written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr, is a charmer, and like all the tracks here, is skillfully and originally presented without being forced. “For a long time I’ve been trying to record cover songs by women who were composers, because there is very little attention paid to them in jazz. I think it’s important to give women recognition for their range of talents, and by promoting them, maybe we will see less discrimination in music”, Hilton muses.

Slowing towards the album’s end, "Extraordinary Everyday Things" is a calm and expressive soundscape, but with a surprise twist, Hilton finishes up with the title track, "Transparent Sky" as a sonorous piano solo. “The melody is beautiful and has a bit of swing, but the harmonic ideas are quite chromatic and dissonant with overlapping/lingering sonorities between bar lines.” She says. “This piece needs to be played sensitively or it will sound harsh, but that is like our lives today - we are living in sensitive times and need to be aware of how we connect and communicate. The solo piano clearly delivers those delicate harmonies along with the emotions. It’s about accepting our world as it is, whatever may be happening at that moment. Tomorrow will bring what it will, but there is still beauty to be found if we look for it, amid the dissonance of our times.” Hilton explains.