Hannah Gill — I Like the Sunrise
The compelling masterwork with wide appeal
When we heard Hannah Gill's album I Like the Sunrise, we knew instantly that it's a masterwork with wide appeal. A welcome discovery. Albums this wonderful don't emerge very often, so it's a rare treat indeed. Naturally, we asked to work on the record to let more people know about it. And hence the album is now getting a worldwide release on CD and Vinyl - with a release date of 16th October 2026.
Super-versatile NYC singer Hannah Gill, just twenty-nine, has created a stunning, mesmerizing concept album comprising a set of songs written or recorded by the New York music icon Duke Ellington. But Gill has done it in a way that may surprise you. Hers is a stripped‑down, guitar‑focused approach, without piano. In this way Gill highlights the lyrics and the phrasing, and allows the melodies and words full space to breathe. The result is a new lease of life for these great songs, a master stroke, and a heartfelt, mellow, subtle tour de force.
Making the album
Hannah Gill found herself drawn to the effortless beauty of songs like Azalea and I Like the Sunrise. But rather than recreate orchestral settings, she leans in to their underlying strengths, trusting the songs to stand on their own, as songs, and together here as a cohesive set. Guitarist Luis Salcedo, bassist Philip Ambuel and drummer Adam Ray form a tightly knit team, forged through months of live performances. The chemistry was honed during a residency at a Brooklyn bar, allowing the music to evolve organically.
By the time they entered the studio, the music was rehearsed, and lived in, shaped by audience response and deep familiarity. Saxophonist Ricky Alexander appears on select tracks, adding a voice to the core. The recording process continued the organic approach. Rather than rely heavily on written charts or overdubs, the band shaped arrangements collaboratively in real time. Captured at The Bunker Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC on analog tape, the album carries a warm, tactile feel. Gill’s inviting vocals sit close to the listener, present, unforced, and deeply connected with the material. The sound was enhanced by the studio’s rare plate reverb which lends an enveloping glow.
Azalea becomes a gorgeous study in restraint and atmosphere, with Gill’s pin-drop vocal supported by a rhythmic motion and nuanced guitar.
Title track I Like the Sunrise is rendered as dreamy, hymn-like, capturing the sense of hope and potential renewal. Hannah Gill’s vocal floats, conveying both fragility and measured optimism. Super subtle.
Noir angst
Hannah Gill’s I Like The Sunrise could easily be a movie soundtrack album. It’s interesting to note that the original Ellington recordings of these songs span the dark, tumultuous years of 1937 to 1950, the years of film noir - sometimes a time of jeopardy, sometimes a time of free abandon - way before the civil rights laws. Although Gill’s album contains several ostensibly optimistic songs, don't let this fool you. The album is suffused with an underlying atmosphere of noir angst, a pervasive sense of the bittersweet, the out of reach.
Some of these songs are associated with Ellington’s pro civil rights stance: I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good) appeared in Ellington’s Jump for Joy revue in Los Angeles, while I Like the Sunrise itself featured in his Liberian Suite album, recorded in New York, which celebrated the founding of Liberia by freed slaves and free-born people.
Like Ellington, Hannah Gill has that air of New York about her. Gill lives in Brooklyn, and her label is based in Turtle Bay, an area of Manhattan northeast of Grand Central Station, bounded approximately by Lexington Avenue and the East River between 43rd and 53rd Streets. Label owner and producer Scott Asen says: “We believe in giving our artists the freedom they need and then watching them grow. ‘I Like the Sunrise’ was entirely Hannah’s concept and her work, and we’re incredibly proud of this album.”
Hannah Gill on her background:
“I was born in North Carolina. I lived in Texas for a few years as a young child, where I was exposed to southern rock and blues; I was drawn to this music. After that, my family and I moved to the eastern shore of Maryland, on the Atlantic coast. I was a blues, soul and jazz fan, listening to lots of BB King, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, and Etta James. New York is such a magnet for the music and art that holds my interest. So I moved to NYC as soon as I could, at age eighteen, hoping to break into the music world, to be a singer. I got to know the city, and soon discovered swing dancing, a nightlife I could enjoy under the age of twenty-one. As I continued to dance, I met musicians and along came opportunities to sing. I've lived in New York ever since.”
Hannah Gill on the new album:
“Duke Ellington holds a special place in my heart. There’s a beautiful melancholic sound to everything he does. This is what resonates with me. He has the ability to wrap multiple complicated emotions into a compelling whole. I wanted my album ‘I Like the Sunshine’ to be a tribute to the music of his that I’ve connected with most over the years. I’m driven by lyrics. It’s important to me to sing songs I feel a connection to in terms of lyrics. This makes the music deeper and more meaningful for me. I wanted to record an album that was a peaceful as well as a thoughtful and emotional experience. Because my life has been a whirlwind, moments of peace have become essential. I hope listeners will feel the same. Everyone deserves a little serenity.”
This exceptional album exudes deep artistic confidence - Hannah Gill has arrived with I Like the Sunrise.
I Like the Sunrise — Track List
- So Far, So Good
- I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues
- Love You Madly
- I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So
- I Didn't Know About You
- I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)
- Azalea
- Do Nothing till You Hear from Me
- I Like the Sunrise
- Take Love Easy
- Azure
Album Release Details
- Hannah Gill — I Like the Sunrise
- Available on digital now
- Worldwide release on CD & Vinyl formats: 16th October 2026
- Bandcamp: https://hannahgillmusic.bandcamp.com/album/i-like-the-sunrise
- Label: Turtle Bay