For Colony grad, life is simply jazzy in New York City

Valley Life editor

"Can you hold on for a second? I've got to get a coffee in me right now. Thanks," she said on her cell phone. "A tall egg nog latt/, please.

"Okay, I'm back. New York? I love it here. I wake up every day deliriously thrilled to be living and working here in New York City," she said, turning her attention back to the interview. "Is this the tall egg nog latt/?" she asked, obviously not to the interviewer. "Thanks.

"Okay, I've got to get out of this Starbucks. It's driving me crazy," she said.

She is Hilary Gardner, a 1995 Colony High School graduate, and every day, she is living out her dream -- performing jazz in New York City, and garnering attention for her talent. It's been a long journey in a short time for Gardner, but she has finally found her home in the Big Apple.

Gardner's path to becoming a top musician has literally been all over the map. After graduating from high school, she spent a year in Italy, and followed it up with two years in college in Tacoma, Wash., studying opera.

"I realized I didn't want to be in school, though, so I moved to Seattle with a vague idea that I wanted to sing. That was about it," Gardner said.

Seattle proved to be just the place for her. She started singing professionally at clubs and with groups, and she realized that being a professional musician isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

"It got my feet wet and showed me the life I wanted to live," she said. "I love singing jazz, because of the freedom and the intimacy with the audience. I was able to work a lot in Seattle, and it really helped me grow."

From Seattle, she moved to New York City, two years ago this coming April. She has caught on with Monday Off, a jazz vocal group that appears regularly in top clubs in New York, as well as around the country. Twice the group has played at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops.

Gardner is also the featured vocalist of the New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble, an 18-piece big band led by the longtime pianist for Dizzy Gillespie. She is featured on the group's newest CD, "Oasis," which was received by positive reviews. It receives considerable air play on jazz stations around the country.

Finding time is tough for Gardner -- she's also the vocalist for the New York City-based "A Touch of Jazz" group, and she's back studying opera.

"Studying opera has really opened up my jazz work I think," Gardner said. "A lot of people say that you can't do both because they are so different, but it helps me."

This December, Gardner is returning home for the first time since 2001. She's going to spend the Christmas holiday with her family, "doing the traditional Christmas thing," she said, and she's bringing a host of talented national musicians home with her for a Dec. 23 concert (see related story) at Evangelo's.

"I can't wait to get home and see everybody again," she said. "It's kind of wild to think that I grew up in Wasilla and here I am in New York City now. I'm grateful for all the support from my hometown. It's really humbling to me."