Hilary Kole says that when she first started working on her debut album, Haunted Heart, she was initially apprehensive. "It took me such a long time to get to this point that my initial thought was that it had to be perfect, that it had to be the definitive representation of who I was and what I was doing." It wasn't until she was into the first session that producer John Pizzarelli convinced her to lighten up. "He reminded me - and he was so right - that music is supposed to be fun, and if we don't enjoy what we're doing, then what's the point? We spent all the rest of the sessions laughing and having such a good time that I'm amazed the record ever got finished."