One of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable composers and pianists in jazz today, Lisa Hilton has honed her evocative and impressionistic “sound paintings” for over a decade, but it is a lifelong passion for music and art that deeply informs her sonic tableaux. Like Dave Brubeck and Bill Evans, her imagistic compositions draw on jazz greats like Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, as well as the classical tradition and the avant-garde. Hilton’s post bop style influences extend beyond jazz legends to include bluesman Muddy Waters, minimalists like Steve Reich, current rockers Green Day or modernists Prokofiev, Stravinsky or Bartok, while others have compared her to impressionists Debussy and Satie. Hilton’s approach is nuanced, and expressive, her touch on the keyboard alternately tender, brooding, playful or cerebral. Originally from a small town on California’s central coast, Hilton studied classical and twentieth century piano formally from the age of eight, but in college, received a degree in art. “I approach music as my art now,” Hilton explains; “I build the composition with the musical elements – melody, rhythm, form, then ‘paint’ in texture and color with harmony, improvisation, density and other concepts. The final composition is then sculpted to life through emotional identity, phrasing and nuance. I believe in creating art that touches our soul and connects us as humans everywhere – to me music is the original Social Network.” Over the course of her creative career, the “Lioness of Jazz,” (JazzReview), has played with many of this era’s jazz luminaries, notably Larry Grenadier, Nasheet Waits, Marcus Gilmore, J.D. Allen, Christian McBride, Steve Wilson, Jeremy Pelt, Lewis Nash and Bobby Militello of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. As a bandleader, in 2014 Hilton will have produced a total of sixteen albums, representing 200+ iTunes tracks. A leading advocate for 21st century composition, Hilton notes, “Composers today must create a body of work that represents the sound and energy of our lives in this century while embracing our inheritance. I’ve only seen the New York that inspired Gershwin in movies – today our world looks, sounds and feels differently, and music today must fit those current experiences.” Known for her warmth and leadership on the stage, Hilton has played major jazz venues coast to coast, both as a solo pianist and with her band, and been heard on hundreds of radio stations around the world – including syndicated programs like NPR’s popular Morning Edition. Committed to helping students who are often overlooked, Hilton regularly spends time to help young blind musicians at the historic Perkins School for the Blind in Boston< (Helen Keller’s alma mater), The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired, The Junior Blind of America in Los Angeles, Camp Bloomfield for the Blind in California, and has also helped The Berklee College of Music in Boston and their adaptive music lab for visually impaired musicians. “Extending help to those with physical disabilities is an important civil rights movement for today,” Hilton explains. MEDIA: Television: Hilton has been featured on CBS/Boston and WGN/Chicago. Books: Hilton has been included in “The New Face of Jazz” by Cicily Janus (Random House (2010), and “Viaggi nell’armonia delle note” by Silvia Cinzia Turrin (Atti Poetici, 2013). A published author, she has also written for Jazz Times and Jazziz Magazine. Radio: Hilton’s recordings appear on international radio charts every year. She has received numerous awards and honors.