The Lisa Hilton Quintet Returns With Another Winning Recording, "Naturally"

The Lisa Hilton Quintet returns with Naturally (Ruby Slippers Productions 1032) out November 27, 2026. The award-winning composer and critically acclaimed pianist once again teams with her renowned quintet on eleven hopeful, impressionistic and mesmerizing tracks. Naturally marks Hilton’s thirtieth album and is destined to become another classic in cool jazz… naturally.

“Creating music that is natural, authentic, and expressive has always been important to me,” says Hilton, who also produced the album. “Now with the advent of A.I. I think this becomes a mandate for artists – it’s imperative to continue creating new work in natural and organic ways despite the ease of digital short cuts. These days multitudes of people feel trapped by cycles of anxiety and stress while feeling pummeled by traumatic news from around the world. Musically, we aim to create hope and a ray of sunshine while honestly expressing everyday challenges too. I think listening to musicians with unique skills, playing real instruments, can connect with our global culture in ways that computers or algorithms can never quite match.”

Legendary drummer Art Blakey (1919-1990) reflected on the belief in the therapeutic, cleansing, and uplifting power of music when he said, “Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life.”Hilton says, “That quote is an apt description for our album Naturally. As musicians, we never yearn for perfection—we want to touch others through honesty, natural beauty and the passion we have for creating and playing music.”

Throughout her career, Hilton has won several awards for her compositions and includes nine originals as well as standards on Naturally. Stand out tracks include the Latin-flavored and stunningly impressionistic “Carefree Chronicles”and “Transcendental Tango." along with some traditional jazz tunes such as “Nocturnal” and “Stop & Go Chaotic Show,” which all highlight the exceptional musical prowess and creative energy of this quintet. Sax man JD Allen and trumpeter Igmar Thomas blend effortlessly with complementary skills and virtuosity, while drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Luques Curtis create a propulsive forward movement with their inventive contributions. Hilton, as always, seduces with melodic simplicity and compositional surprises, displaying her fluid soloing on trio tracks such as the ballad “I Want to Spend More Than a Moment with You,”and paints rich landscapes filled with hope on “Scene from a California Dream,” “Waterlily World” and “Thinking of Somewhere Else.” “Once Upon a Blues Day” clearly highlights the distinctive composer's voice that Hilton has—combining American blues skillfully with painterly dabs of pop and Beethoven.

The beautiful and contemplative tune, “Peace Piece” by pianist/composer Bill Evans is presented here as Hilton’s solo piano interpretation in a way that connects with the original improvisatory composition, while highlighting the brilliance of this 1959 composition. The other standard included is “My Favorite Things” by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rogers. Although a more restrained version than John Coltrane’s recorded versions of this jazz classic, Hilton and her quintet present a thoughtful arrangement here with interesting harmonic ideas and allowing the melodicism of Allen’s deep tenor tones and the clarity of Thomas’s trumpet to be showcased alongside the emotional range of Hilton. From her Malibu studio, Hilton’s passion for composing and piano performance always permeates her annual contributions to the heritage of cool jazz. Previously home to jazz giants Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Stan Getz, Joe Zawinul as well as Jeremy Pelt this coastal community provides endless inspiration for Hilton while surrounding her as it did for many other jazz heroes, with the natural small-town beauty that quite likely, will Naturally inspire listeners too.