Author: Howard Dukes
May 16, 2008
Kimberly Gordon has never been to South Bend. The jazz singer's upcoming performance with Tom Hilliker's band at Trio's Restaurant and Jazz Club, however, isn't all that surprising.
Jazz artists spend a lot of time traveling around the country and performing with different bands and meeting other musicians and singers.
That kind of networking explains why the Chicago native will be at Trios on Saturday.
Demos Petropoulos, a piano and electric organ player who is Gordon's husband, played with David Hilliker at a Chicago club. Petropoulos liked what he heard from Hilliker, who is a drummer and Tom Hilliker's brother.
"I'm always looking for new talent and Demos said, 'You've got to hear this guy David. He plays hard,' " Gordon says.
So Gordon hired Hilliker to play drums.
"And I've been using him as much as I can," she says.
Meanwhile, David Hilliker was forming a favorable impression of Gordon and Petropoulos.
Once David Hilliker told his brother and bass player about Gordon, Tom Hilliker knew he wanted to perform with the singer.
"First of all, we think alike musically, and there is a real chemistry between David and (me)," Tom Hilliker says. "And I know from hearing from multiple (sources) that she's been influenced by Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, so you will hear her sing a lot of songs from that era."
Gordon acknowledges that she loves singing the songs from the musical canon known as the Great American Songbook.
"I cover standards from 1900 to 1960," she says. "I think it was the golden age of entertainment and lyrics. The lyrics -- especially those from songs written between 1900 and 1940 -- will always stand the test of time."
Gordon adds that the training she received as a student in Chicago helped her once she decided to become a professional singer 15 years ago.
Gordon sang in an all-city chorus in the 1980s. The Chicago public school system's choral ensemble sings classical, American folk, gospel and Latin music for dignitaries she says.
Gordon credits the program with keeping her interested in school.
"The program also gave me basic singing techniques, like breathing and standing properly -- all of those commonsense things," she says.
Gordon got the training while singing mostly classical music with the all-city ensemble, but the methods she learned also can be applied to jazz.
"I believe that jazz is an American classical music, so it would make sense that classical music training would be very useful in jazz," she says.
Chicago is one of the major jazz centers, so players and singers have to be top-notch to get jobs. These days, it's been hard for players to get and keep jobs in Chicago, Gordon says.
The economic downturn is forcing restaurants and clubs to cut back on live music.
"I've only just begun hearing musicians say 'I lost the Thursday gig,' " Gordon says. "And owners are being honest with them and saying it's because (of) the cost of food and gas. They just can't afford it, so they're cutting back on the music."
In a way, then, Gordon's excitement about performing in South Bend is driven by her desire to promote a new venue.
"So I'm really glad to hear that a new club is opening," she says, "and I will try to get there because people need to hear the music."
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