California Tour 2025

This summer, we had two tours with the Lunar Octet, the jazz/latin band I've been a part of since its beginnings 42 years ago. I write most of the music for the group, much of which I composed in New Jersey and perform locally with pianist Phil Orr in our Sustainable Jazz duo. 

Additional compositions for the Octet come from our conguero, Aron Kaufman. Occasionally we pull out a beautiful ballad by drummer Jon Krosnick. Though based in Ann Arbor, the Lunar Octet also has a California version. Jon, a Stanford professor who periodically performs with renowned trumpeter Randy Brecker, booked our Lunar Octet for 8 gigs in 5 days this past June.

The final gig was in a central plaza in Sonoma, with our all-original music drifting out to a thousand people enjoying a beautiful afternoon.

Other gigs were at the Las Positas Vineyard and a brewery named the SacYard.

It's always a good feeling to play amidst the stacks at libraries, many of which have beautiful central spaces for the community to gather.

One highlight was playing as a sextet at Mr. Tipples Jazz Club in downtown San Francisco. 

To play these tours, members of the band converge from all over the country. Bassist Jeff Dalton flies in from the Florida Keys, conguero Aron Kaufman travels from Michigan. To fill out the band, drummer Jon Krosnick recruited his fabulous California-based colleagues, with Murray Low on keyboard, Tod Dickow on tenor sax, and new addition Chris Aschman lighting up the stage with his trumpet playing.

Michigan Tour, July 2025

This past July, our Lunar Octet toured for two weeks in Michigan, performing our all-original latin and jazz at gigs ranging from Ann Arbor up to Traverse City.

One of the first gigs was at our favorite jazz club, the Blue Llama down on Main Street in Ann Arbor. Such a special place to play, with stellar performances from the Michigan contingent of the band: Zen Zadravec on piano, multi-instrumentalist Paul Vornhagen, Tim Blackmon on trumpet, Olman Piedra on percussion, guitarist Sam Clark, and conguero Aron Kaufman.

A few gigs later we were up in the beautiful Traverse City area as a quintet, casting our original latin and jazz out across a picnic area at St. Ambrose Cellars. Jon Krosnick leads the group from behind the drums, and Jeff Dalton provides steady, melodic underpinning for the grooves, and virtuosic bass solos. 

A library in Hamburg seemed disconnected from any downtown, and yet serves as a vibrant community center for many in the vicinity. During one of our sets, a thunder storm blew through with high winds and pelting rain, adding a dramatic visual backdrop.

Our final stop was Rancho Tranquilico, a concert series hosted by farmer and open space preservationist Barry Lonik, with a late evening light show provided by the fireflies. 

 

Until I Find the Words at St. Mary Church

The quieter side of the Sustainable Jazz Duo, in a performance at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church in South Amboy. The original tango-influenced composition, Until I Find the Words, is the title track of our CD. The tune actually has words, which begin with:

"Until I find the words, I'll sing this melody, this simple melody, to tell you of my love."

Performing at HIP's Spring Gathering

Our Sustainable Jazz Duo will perform this Sunday, May 4, at the Housing Initiatives of Princeton's Spring Gathering, a fundraiser for this great local organization. Their mission? 

To assist local individuals and families experiencing housing insecurity build toward a sustainable future via stable housing, better employment, and a network of support services.

Our mission is to live up to their organization's very cool acronym -- HIP! 

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.