Vocals: Hilary Kole
Bass: Paul Gill
Guitar: John Hart
Drums: Aaron Kimmel
Piano: Tedd Firth (tracks 1,3,6,9,10)
Piano: John DiMartino (tracks 2,4,5,7,8,11, 12, 13,14)
Cello: Agnes Nagy
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT HILARY KOLE…
“…Kole puts her stamp on Great American Songbook tunes and more contemporary classics-to-be. The Album is personal, accomplished and versatile…….” -Carlo Wolff- Downbeat Magazine Aug 2015 (Read more HERE)
“Hilary Kole offers a stunning and eclectic collection of pop and jazz with her new offering “A Self-Portrait”. Ms. Kole soars throughout with a voice that is at times powerful and self-assured while other moments she brings a vulnerability that touches the soul.”- Associated Press 5 STARS (Apr 2 2015)
“Hilary Kole wields her creamy, dreamy voice with simple understated bliss on this playful reading of the Johnny Mercer classic – A Self-Portrait” – USA Today
“..HILARY KOLE: A SELF-PORTRAIT… It’ll remain in your CD player for a long time for sure…. Vocally Hilary is on top of her game here… Beauty and artistry combine to make musical magic… Hilary, you never let us down..” – Dan Singer, IN TUNE INTERNATIONAL – Apr 2015
“..though the overall feel is intimate and cozy, the pliancy of Kole’s musicianship shines through, most notably on a towering interpretation of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach’s “God Give Me Strength,” a saucy slither through Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” and an effervescent “Lemon Twist”. – Christopher Loudon, JazzTimes Magazine
MUSIC VIDEOS
RIVER
“There are some things you go through in your life that will change you forever.
This recording represents the triumph of nearly three years of fighting for the legal right to put out a recording. I am so grateful to my family, friends, and fans who have shared with me their unconditional love and support through this time. This recording is dedicated to you.”
— Hilary Kole
REVIEWS
Click on links below
TALKIN BROADWAY SOUND ADVISE Feb 2015
JAZZ TIMES MAGAZINE review Jan 2015
“By offering an honest, no holds barred glimpse into her musical soul, Hilary Kole has created a true contemporary jazz masterpiece. ” Jazz Monthly Read more
“She found her mojo in a devastating performance of the Burt Bacharach -Elvis Costello ballad “God Give Me Strength,” introduced in the 1996 movie “Grace of My Heart.” It is a song that can only register if invested with an operatic intensity, and Ms. Kole rose to the occasion with an anguished performance …she brought the same fervor to Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide” in a full-voiced rendition that captured every nuance of this reflection on emotional destruction and recovery. Ms. Kole explained that until now, she had stayed away from the sing-songwriter canon of the 1970’s and beyond. But she demonstrated- not only here but also in two original numbers, “A Sliver of You” and “Where Are The Angels,” on which she accompanied herself on piano- that this is exactly where she should have been all along…”
Stephen Holden, NY Times
“A pure voice that flows as easily as burnished notes from a muted trumpet, impeccable musicianship, pellucid phrasing, the ability to swing an up-tune and infuse a ballad with simmering passion “
David Finkle, Huffington Post
“Kole’s singing reaches beyond the usual vocal interpretations of standards. In her gifted hands, they’re transformed into compelling new musical short stories…add to that the musicality she brought to everything she touched…”
Don Heckman, LA Times
“Hilary Kole has one of the great contemporary jazz voices. This is partly attributable to a terrific, well-honed instrument and, partly, I conjecture, to an old soul. Kole comprehends the genre viscerally. She interprets numbers with a heady blend of sophistication and original inflection natural to artists of a much earlier era….” Alix Cohen Nov. 8 2014
READ the complete CABARET SCENES MAGAZINE’s REVIEW
“..this collection of tunes has her in a mix of vulnerable, world-wise, world-weary and longing moods that only comes from experiences seeds sown in tears that hopefully bring a harvest of joy.” Jazz Weekly Dec 8 2014– Read More
“…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….” read more at
THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER
