You may not have heard of this talented pianist, composer, and bandleader but you will soon. Lisa Hilton from San Luis Obispo in California taught herself to play the keyboard at age six. It was a color-coded one and started writing songs at an early age. As with all pianists, she studied classical music but that all changed when in her teens she fell in love with jazz and the blues. She loved the music of Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and Jellyroll Morton.
She first composed piano scores for high school musicals and went on to college not studying music but art. She returned to playing music again after her neighbor, and fellow pianist, David Foster reignited that desire. Sometimes you have to step away from a situation to be reinspired.
Glad she did and she drew inspiration from such jazz legends as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Thelonius Monk. She resumed her studies at UCLA in music theory and music composition. Drawing on those jazz legends and their compositions one stood out for her, Horace Silver. He was known for his improvisations and free jazz and this interested her. Her music is a blend of jazz, blues, classical, and avant-garde. Her piano arrangements are beautiful and says, "I like to use improvisational ideas in an impressionistic way." She loves nature and has named many of her songs and compositions with titles such as When It Rains and others. She has also been a bandleader working with such jazz artists as Christian McBride, Antonio Sanchez, and many others. She released her debut album, Seduction in 1995 and has released an album a year since then. She also has her own publishing and record company and is a big supporter of music programs for children in particular those who are blind and visually impaired. She released her album, More Than Another Day last year and will release her latest album, Transparent Sky on September 3rd. Check out this super talented pianist/composer/bandleader and support independent music and musicians. Happy listening!
More Than Another Day
