Lisa Hilton: Coincidental Moment

As good as Coincidental Moment is, there is an uncharacteristic sense of sameness infused in many of these bossa blues.

As she notes in the liners, lauded and long-trusted pianist Lisa Hilton intended the music to illuminate the cool energies and history of jazz while relating to these hair-shirt times in which we find ourselves privileged to listen to her music . But perhaps it crossed some invisible line where what has been accepted as gospel from Hilton—her buoyancy and vivacious musical spirit—are kind of pushed to the background.

Yet it is only human for these coincidental times to pare away at all our truths and Hilton, gifted as she is, still is one of us. So Coincidental Moment, as good as it is, does not partake in such celebrations of endurance and dance as her many previous triumphs, notably 2020's Chalkboard Destiny, 2019's Oasis, 2016's Nocturnal, and 2011's assertive Underground, (all on Hilton's own Ruby Slippers label), but inhabits a darker rumbling left of middle C.

Hilton's innate sense of blues and structure is undeniable and most certainly welcome in a world of dissonance and fracture, but it sounds just the same. From the jumpy eye-opener "Anxiety Society" to the jaunty "Jagged Lil' Blues" to the cool '60s spy movie themed "Happily Go Lucky" Hilton holds close her piano's darker tones. Even with her beautiful, never predictable pentatonic runs, "Blue Tropics" gets its momentum from a darker rhythm. A somber, yet beautiful take on "Blue In Green" adds to the encroaching shade. Like speed scrolling, "Multiple Perspectives" leaves one somewhat unsettled.

Lana Del Ray's "West Coast," a melancholy mix of psychedelica and the blues, fits well into the frame of Coincidental Moment, as Hilton, trumpeter Igmar Thomas, and long time compatriots, drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Luques Curtis make the tune one of their very own. Oddly enough, the title track, one of those Hilton ballads one looks forward to hearing with a fervent eagerness, dispels the fog, as does "Everyday Anthem." The closing "Uncommon Poetry" balances the light and dark in a way only these four can. Coincidental Moment is very good. Just in a different way from what is usual from Hilton.

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