PREVIOUS GUESTS

Hilary Kole

Hilary Kole. Long a beloved staple on the NYC jazz scene and world-renowned as a multi-faceted concert hall and symphony performer, Hilary Kole has emerged triumphantly from a difficult three-year legal struggle to put out a recording – and found her true musical heart in the process. On her new independent full-length album, the acclaimed vocalist and musician paints A Self-Portrait with illuminating stylistic brushstrokes and an expansive repertoire that takes her far beyond her storied roots as a purveyor of the Great American Songbook. Back, better than ever and baring her jazz and pop soul like never before, Hilary celebrates life free of limitations and full of optimism.

So personal and intimate that it could only be a self-produced project, A Self-Portrait – recorded and co-produced by famed engineer Jim Czak at legendary Nola Studios, where Hilary recorded her first demo at 14 – features the singer working with her longtime bandmates Paul Gill (bass), John Hart (guitar) and drummer Aaron Kimmel, along with pianists Tedd Firth, John DiMartino, and cellist Agnas Nagy. Together they uncover new emotional dimensions in tunes that she sees as personal snapshots of her life that also communicate deeper universal truths. Having always felt more connected to the sound of her live performances than to her previous studio recordings, Hilary took an organic approach to recording in line with the way she sings when an audience is present. Her interpretation extends to her own masterful arrangements of 11 of the songs. Credited also as arrangers are Firth (“Lemon Twist”), Rich DeRosa (“The Man I Love,” and co-arranged with Kole “Some Other Time”), and Misha Piatigorsky (“50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”)

Those who don’t know the backstory that Hilary brings into A Self-Portrait will still experience an artist who makes fresh, freewheeling choices and whose artistry is constantly evolving and dedicated to, as she says, “opening up the vault a little.” On this collection, that translates to a spirited variety of Songbook classics and obscurities, a batch of hits from the 60s and 70s pop landscape and the glorious mid-90s inspirational gem from Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, “God Give Me Strength.” All of these are Hilary favorites that she has worked into her recent repertoire. Collectively, they parallel her personal arc these past few years from frustration and despair to determination and hope.

As the title of the generous 14-track collection implies, Hilary brings a truly inspiring personal and professional background to A Self-Portrait. The New York native, who studied composition at Manhattan School of Music, started her professional singing career at the legendary Rainbow Room.

In addition to performing at famed Manhattan venues like Town Hall, Birdland, Blue Note, Iridium, 54 Below, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall (with Michael Feinstein and The New York Pops), she made her concert-hall debut at Lincoln Center as part of the “American Songbook Series.”
In June 2007, she appeared at Carnegie Hall in a tribute to Oscar Peterson, a performance reprised in January 2008 at the Canadian Memorial to Dr. Peterson at Roy Thompson Hall alongside Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock and Nancy Wilson.

Globally, she has since headlined at the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Nairn Jazz Festival, and the Cotton Club and Blue Note in Japan. She followed her 2009 debut album Haunted Heart (produced by and featuring jazz-guitar great John Pizzarelli), a Gold Disc Award winner in Japan, with You Are There, an ambitious compilation featuring vocal-piano duets with legendary pianists Dave Brubeck, Michel Legrand, Benny Green, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Kenny Barron, etc. which won a New York Bistro Award for record of the year, and received national recognition as a USA Today Best Album of the Year.

Hilary’s time away from recording gave her a chance to take stock of her deepest passions and longings as a performer and interpreter. “I had the opportunity to look at who I am as an artist, and realize that I cannot pretend to only be one thing,” she says. “I am, like most artists, many things – or maybe just one thing that cannot be classified. A Self Portrait represents more of who I am. I once thought I had to sing in a box, sing a certain way. I now realize that for me that would be the safe road, but not the truest road.”
That path includes a deep love for a wide range of influences, from Cole Porter to Maria Schneider to Celtic chants, Bohemian rhapsodies, Samuel Barber, the Rolling Stones and Fun. It’s also taken Hilary in unique thematic directions over the years as she debuted at the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel as the co-writer and star of the critically acclaimed, Off Broadway revues Our Sinatra and Singing Astaire. Hilary’s tour de force is a symphonic tribute to the music of Judy Garland.

In 2021 Hilary released Sophisticated Lady

Hilary Kole. Long a beloved staple on the NYC jazz scene and world-renowned as a multi-faceted concert hall and symphony performer, Hilary Kole has emerged triumphantly from a difficult three-year legal struggle to put out a recording – and found her true musical heart in the process. On her new independent full-length album, the acclaimed vocalist and musician paints A Self-Portrait with illuminating stylistic brushstrokes and an expansive repertoire that takes her far beyond her storied roots as a purveyor of the Great American Songbook. Back, better than ever and baring her jazz and pop soul like never before, Hilary celebrates life free of limitations and full of optimism. So personal and intimate that it could only be a self-produced project, A Self-Portrait – recorded and co-produced by famed engineer Jim Czak at legendary Nola Studios, where Hilary recorded her first demo at 14 – features the singer working with her longtime bandmates Paul Gill (bass), John Hart (guitar) and drummer Aaron Kimmel, along with pianists Tedd Firth, John DiMartino, and cellist Agnas Nagy. Together they uncover new emotional dimensions in tunes that she sees as personal snapshots of her life that also communicate deeper universal truths. Having always felt more connected to the sound of her live performances than to her previous studio recordings, Hilary took an organic approach to recording in line with the way she sings when an audience is present. Her interpretation extends to her own masterful arrangements of 11 of the songs. Credited also as arrangers are Firth (“Lemon Twist”), Rich DeRosa (“The Man I Love,” and co-arranged with Kole “Some Other Time”), and Misha Piatigorsky (“50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”) Those who don’t know the backstory that Hilary brings into A Self-Portrait will still experience an artist who makes fresh, freewheeling choices and whose artistry is constantly evolving and dedicated to, as she says, “opening up the vault a little.” On this collection, that translates to a spirited variety of Songbook classics and obscurities, a batch of hits from the 60s and 70s pop landscape and the glorious mid-90s inspirational gem from Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, “God Give Me Strength.” All of these are Hilary favorites that she has worked into her recent repertoire. Collectively, they parallel her personal arc these past few years from frustration and despair to determination and hope. As the title of the generous 14-track collection implies, Hilary brings a truly inspiring personal and professional background to A Self-Portrait. The New York native, who studied composition at Manhattan School of Music, started her professional singing career at the legendary Rainbow Room. In addition to performing at famed Manhattan venues like Town Hall, Birdland, Blue Note, Iridium, 54 Below, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall (with Michael Feinstein and The New York Pops), she made her concert-hall debut at Lincoln Center as part of the “American Songbook Series.” In June 2007, she appeared at Carnegie Hall in a tribute to Oscar Peterson, a performance reprised in January 2008 at the Canadian Memorial to Dr. Peterson at Roy Thompson Hall alongside Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock and Nancy Wilson. Globally, she has since headlined at the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Nairn Jazz Festival, and the Cotton Club and Blue Note in Japan. She followed her 2009 debut album Haunted Heart (produced by and featuring jazz-guitar great John Pizzarelli), a Gold Disc Award winner in Japan, with You Are There, an ambitious compilation featuring vocal-piano duets with legendary pianists Dave Brubeck, Michel Legrand, Benny Green, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Kenny Barron, etc. which won a New York Bistro Award for record of the year, and received national recognition as a USA Today Best Album of the Year. Hilary’s time away from recording gave her a chance to take stock of her deepest passions and longings as a performer and interpreter. “I had the opportunity to look at who I am as an artist, and realize that I cannot pretend to only be one thing,” she says. “I am, like most artists, many things – or maybe just one thing that cannot be classified. A Self Portrait represents more of who I am. I once thought I had to sing in a box, sing a certain way. I now realize that for me that would be the safe road, but not the truest road.” That path includes a deep love for a wide range of influences, from Cole Porter to Maria Schneider to Celtic chants, Bohemian rhapsodies, Samuel Barber, the Rolling Stones and Fun. It’s also taken Hilary in unique thematic directions over the years as she debuted at the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel as the co-writer and star of the critically acclaimed, Off Broadway revues Our Sinatra and Singing Astaire. Hilary’s tour de force is a symphonic tribute to the music of Judy Garland. In 2021 Hilary released Sophisticated Lady