‘Despite the masks and other challenges, musicians need to create music.’ West Coast pianist, composer, bandleader and producer Lisa Hilton certainly hasn’t let the pandemic stand in the way of her creativity. Life Is Beautiful, which marks a quarter-century of releases from Hilton as leader, is her third trio album with Luques Curtis (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums) since the onset of the Covid era, and together the three of them are intent on delivering melodic, mellow uplift, although they are more than capable of increasing the tempo and intensity when it suits them: ‘Retro Road Trip’ is a speedy vehicle for the trio’s talents and ‘Santa Monica Samba’, though, as Hilton says, not actually a samba, takes a little inspiration from Horace Silver and delivers some deep Latin-influenced groove.

The album opens with a bass flourish from Curtis which introduces the only cover in the set, ‘Ernie’s Blues’ by Ernie Wilkins; the subsequent 10 tracks are all Hilton originals. ‘Unforgotten Moments, Half Forgotten Dreams’, which, says Hilton, ‘seems to express the last two years’, has wonderful poise and narrative unpredictability. Hilton is an excellent pianist, prizing feel over flash, and this is a reflective but deeply rhythmic set to savour.