Frolic at St. Mary's

I had asked whether it was okay to dance inside the St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church where Phil Orr and I performed our original jazz and latin music. The answer was affirmative, so we played Frolic--a tune that gets people dancing even if they remain sitting down, as the girl on the front left frolicfully demonstrates. Thanks to Jody and St. Mary's for being such wonderful hosts.  

RSVP for Sustainable Jazz at Salon 33 this Saturday, April 12

Come this Saturday, April 12, to hear Phil and me perform at Salon 33 in West Windsor. 

This is a great venue for hearing our all-original melodic adventures in samba, swing, and tango.  There's an optional potluck at 7pm. Music runs from 8-10pm. 

To obtain more info and get the address, you have to RSVP at this link, and make sure to mark that you're going to the Saturday show.

Salon 33 is donation-based, with a suggested donation of $20. 

Performance March 23 in South Amboy

Our Sustainable Jazz duo with the totally orrsome Phil Orr on piano will be heading this Sunday to South Amboy to perform a sampling of our melodic adventures in samba, swing, and tango in the Music at St. Mary's series. The performance runs from 4-5pm, at 256 Augusta Street. All-original compositions in a church setting, with piano and sax/clarinet.

Greening the Blues - A Sustainable Jazz Duo Video

Such a pleasure to perform at the Princeton Public Library community room for a Sunday afternoon audience. Phil Orr on piano, and myself, Steve Hiltner, on alto sax and clarinet, playing all original jazz, sambas, and a tango.

Below is a video of us performing one of my compositions, Greening the Blues. 

 

Sustainable Jazz Duo Plays the Princeton Public Library - Dec. 8, 3pm

It's happenin'! The orrsome Phil Orr and I will be performing at the totally awesome Princeton Public Library, Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3pm in the community room. 

We'll be serving up fresh, original melodies made buoyant by Phil's grooves in styles ranging from samba to swing, tango to funk. We tend to make it fun and engaging. 

Some of the compositions take you on a journey, like Climbing the Mountain, and Caged Bird Swings, which starts with a caged musical theme and gradually sets it free.

Upcoming Performances

The Michigan-based Lunar Octet and the NJ-based Sustainable Jazz Duo both feature my jazz and latin compositions.

Mark your calendars:

2024

Wednesday, Nov. 6, 7-10pm - the Lunar Octet plays the Blue Llama Jazz Club, Ann Arbor, MI

Sunday, Dec. 8, 3-4pm, Sustainable Jazz Duo at the Princeton Public Library

2025

Jan. 16, Aretha's in Detroit, MI with the Lunar Octet

March 8-15, a week of Lunar Octet performances in Michigan

Saturday, April 12, Sustainable Jazz Duo at Salon 33 in West Windsor, 7pm. More info closer to the date.

Lunars Play Sounds of the Zoo

One stop on our Lunar Octet's Michigan tour last month was the central square in Kalamazoo, to play a set at Sounds of the Zoo. 

Jennifer Hudson-Prenkert is the founder and executive director of the Sounds of the Zoo music festival. She seeks to make Kalamazoo a music destination in Michigan by highlighting the state's musical talent. This is the vision that animates her, from the city's website: 

"We endeavor to create change through music and believe music is not only creative art but a means to connect and uplift humanity. We believe music can inspire humanity by creating connections that bridge class, gender and cultural divides. Uniting the community by supporting diversity, inclusion, as well as creating awareness towards environmental sustainability and mental health are core values we will give platforms to."

This was an especially satisfying gig, with a great response to our original mix of latin and jazz. 

We've had various trumpeters performing with us lately. This time, it was the fabulous Anthony Stanco, who developed his playing in Detroit and counted the great Marcus Belgrave among his mentors. As we played, Anthony's wife followed their little daughter around the park. The next day, she gave birth to their second child. Nice to think that our music motivated the baby to take the plunge.

As a jazz naturalist, I'm always checking out the plantlife we encounter on these tours. Near the stage was a big burr oak, probably hundreds of years old, and probably dating back to a time when this park in the middle of the city was a burr oak savanna of scattered trees and a thick understory of grasses and wildflowers. 

A Review of Our Lunar Quartet

Thanks to Joe George of Harrison Township, Michigan, for his facebook review of my compositions. At the Harrison Speakeasy, just north of Detroit, we combined repertoire from the Lunar Octet and Sustainable Jazz and played it all as a quartet, with Keaton Royer, Jeff Dalton, and Jon Krosnick on piano, bass, and drums. This was the first time my music had ever been performed with a quartet. Very rewarding.

"I couldn't help but identify with the music. I never heard a lick of it before, but it still had the familiar sounds of recognizable modern jazz classics like you might hear from Chick Corea or Gino Vannelli. It was absolutely brilliant. The drummer led the band, but each composition was written by Steve Hiltner, who played a mean saxophone, and he wrote the charts for every instrument.

 
This band wasn't just good, they were NATIONWIDE. Steve is from New Jersey, the bassist hailed from Michigan but of late lives in the Florida Keys. One of the guys lives in California, and the last was from BFE or some such thing. But what great music! It was a real showcase for talent, great writing, and dedication like nobody's business. I'm grateful for the fabulous show and an impressive booking.

 
People have no idea what went on. And the people that do know seem kinda casual about it. But I know what went on and it blows my mind. To begin with, writing music takes talent. Transcribing music takes hard work and dedication. But writing music for all the musical parts and transcribing all those parts, and then having it all performed together like a Symphony.....and then have us dancing in the aisles because it swings like Ellington, well that's coooool! Like having Mozart hanging around your local tavern."

The never before heard combined with the never before seen. The Harrison Speakeasy has a deep sea diving theme meant to evoke prohibition days, an idiosyncratic patio with swings for chairs, an outdoor game I'll call "kickpool," and a post-gig photo op. Sometimes a creative, "never before" setting can make you feel at home.

Touring California and Michigan With the Lunar Octet

Our all-originals latin/jazz band, the Lunar Octet, is currently on tour in California, with a two-week tour of Michigan to follow. Drummer and Stanford professor Jon Krosnick booked 12 gigs for us in 11 days in California, including a theater, a college, a jazz club in downtown San Francisco, vineyards, a brewery, and several libraries in the Bay area. I'm musical director for the group, and compose most of the material, along with compositions by bandmembers Aron Kaufman, Paul Vornhagen, and Jon Krosnick, and a couple covers by Tito Puente. 

Check out videos of some of the performances at the Lunar Octet's facebook page. And please "follow" the facebook page. A large following on social media helps us to book gigs. 

Among the hightlights thus far is the Cameo Theater in St. Helena, with a great audience and standing ovation. 

We've been lucky with the weather, with outdoor gigs at Mission College,

and another big crowd at Portola Vineyard.

The backdrop for a performance at Las Positas was a beautiful vineyard and tawny hillsides.

The jazz club is called Mr. Tipple's Recording Studio, with great food and an enthusiastic crowd. 

July 12: Sustainable Jazz Returns to Salon 33

The fabulous Phil Orr and I will be back at Salon 33 in West Windsor on Friday, July 12, playing original latin and jazz. 

Potluck starts at 7, followed by the performance 8-10. This is a donation-based event. Go to this link to register, and to receive location info. 

Lunar Octet at Rancho Tranquilico, Friday, May 24

For anyone who lives in or has friends in southeastern Michigan, we'll be performing in a country setting outside Ann Arbor on Friday, May 24 with a 9-piece latin/jazz group that's grown beyond its name, the Lunar Octet. We've been playing all original music for 41 years, in Michigan, California, Ohio, and England. Shows at this venue frequently sell out. Ticket info below.

Ann Arbor: Enjoy an evening of Latin jazz with The Lunar Octet on Friday, May 24 at 7:30 pm in the 130 year old barn at Rancho Tranquilico, while taking in the beauty of acres of farm and prairie land. The setting is casual…bring your favorite portable chair and beverage. https://bit.ly/4aPSwr8
 

Performances in Michigan and California in 2024

I return to Michigan early this year to perform with the Lunar Octet--the all-originals latin-jazz group now in its 41st year. I'm the musical director and primary composer for the group, which toured England in 2022. 

Dates are Jan. 17 at the Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor, and Feb. 8-10 at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe in Detroit. 

Tours in Michigan and California are planned for the summer.

Sustainable Jazz Duo To Perform for Princeton Community Housing Gala

My two lives as bandleader and nonprofit leader have come together this fall. 

Our Sustainable Jazz Duo will be performing at the Princeton Community Housing Gala on Friday, October 6. 

Meanwhile, our nonprofit Friends of Herrontown Woods is developing a trailhead to welcome residents of PCH's Princeton Community Village into Herrontown Woods preserve. First step is an eagle scout project to build a kiosk behind the new affordable housing.

Fittingly, the gala's theme riffs on nature: "2023 Birds of all Feathers." 

Update: Word has it the gala is sold out.

Lunar Octet Plays The Ark

On August 26, our Lunar Octet performed at the legendary Ark in Ann Arbor, MI. 

The Lunar Octet was founded 40 years ago under the whimsical name Lunar Glee Club. It started as a composer's workshop, and still plays all original music. 

Along with many of my own compositions, we perform tunes by band members Aron Kaufman, Paul Vornhagen, and Jon Krosnick. 

Thanks to photographer Chuck Andersen for these photos.

Recent Performances in Michigan and Princeton Junction, NJ

 I'm very fortunate to have such great musicians to perform my original compositions with. 

Our Lunar Octet, now in its 40th year, performed a sold out show of latin, jazz, and funk this past week at the Blue Llama, a gorgeous jazz club in Ann Arbor, MI. Left to right in the photo are Sam Clark (guitar), Jeff Dalton (bass), Olman Piedra (percussion), Aron Kaufman (congas), Brandon Cooper (trumpet), Paul Vornhagen (woodwinds), and Keaton Royer (piano). Jon Krosnick plays the drums. Last year included tours in California and England.

Back in NJ, I teamed up this past weekend with the fabulous Phil Orr on piano, here shown coming up with a setlist for our concert at Salon 33 in Princeton Junction. Salon 33 happens monthly, with potlucks followed by a concert. We played for a great crowd--standing ovation!

Link for Signing Up for Tonight's Performance

Our Sustainable Jazz Duo performs tonight at Salon 33 from 8-10, after an optional potluck at 7. Registration is required by the host: https://lookingglasspond.wufoo.com/forms/x1on5yya1r9z0mo/

The venue is on Alexander Rd on the way to the train station, with details provided upon registration. It's a nice performance space and community of people, and a donation-based event. We'll be performing all original music--some old, some new--spanning 40 years of composing. 

Playing Piano for "People and Stories"

I have two friends named Mimi, and by chance both are part of an organization called People and Stories that asked me to play some solo piano for their spring fundraiser. The forsythia was blooming in vases along the edge of glorious Mackay Lounge at the Seminary, and a grand piano was waiting to be played as people filtered in.

One small admission: I'm more of a reed player than a pianist, but people seemed very happy with the string of original piano pieces I had prepared for the occasion, pieces like Will a' the Wisp, This is Love, Anyway, and Dorothy's Garden. Some of these I play and talk about on my youtube channel. There's always someone who comes over and wants to talk at length while you're playing, and I was glad to see that my chops are good enough to carry on a conversation in the midst of performing. 

The fundraiser event was very impressive--well attended, with a very articulate and moving expression of the organization's mission by one of its leaders, followed by a reading and Q and A by famed author Jennifer Egan. She kept the audience spellbound through her reading, the sort of rapt attention where you could have heard a pin drop. Egan is a gifted writer and an equally gifted presenter. It turned out to be their best attended benefit to date.

Upcoming Performances of Sustainable Jazz

CHANGE OF TIME FOR LIBRARY PERFORMANCE! It's at 3pm, not at 4.

April 16 - Private event (Community Without Walls)

April 29 - Private event (Stonebridge)

May 6, 3pm - Princeton Public Library -- Join us in the Community Room for tuneful, joyful all-original jazz and latin

May 13 - Salon 33 -- a long-standing music series, now based in West Windsor. Potluck at 7pm, concert at 8pm. Contact me for more info.

May 10 -- Blue Llama, Ann Arbor, MI -- I'll be performing many of my original compositions with the Lunar Octet.

Our Lunar Octet Plays the Dirty Dog

The Lunar Octet, our latin/jazz group now in its 40th year, played a four night engagement earlier this year at one of Detroit's premier jazz clubs, the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe. All-original music, sold-out shows, a standing ovation or two--it was a good week.

The photo was taken through the window at the club's entrance, which has musical and canine figures etched in. 

Our Lunar Octet to Perform in the Detroit Area This Month

Some great food and music at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe this coming week, just north of Detroit. Wednesday through Saturday, Feb. 8-11, we converge from California, Florida, Ohio, and NJ to play our original latin/jazz music, which one newly minted fan in England last year called "joy jazz." The concerts are dedicated to the memory of the prominent and indefatigable jazz writer Michael G. Nastos. Tell your friends in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area to come on out. Info below.