Larry Hilton: The Unsung Hero Behind Trenton’s Arts Renaissance
As Trenton continues to raise its profile as a center for the arts, we are reminded of the groups and individuals who have nurtured the “Trenton Renaissance” from the beginning. Larry Hilton, now in his late 70s, is one of those Trentonians who has been part of it from the ground up.
Mr. Hilton grew up here and attended Trenton High and Mercer County Community College, then worked in IT for the State of New Jersey, retiring after 35 years. Music has long been one of his greatest passions, beginning with his time playing alto sax in the marching band at Trenton High.
As with many people involved in the arts, Larry’s world is wider than just music or the visual arts: It’s all connected with the community and has been for decades. In the mid 60s, Larry worked with the North Trenton Community Center, affiliated with United Progress, Inc., to develop affordable housing in the city. Larry brought a delegation from Trenton to Washington to press for funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for new housing in Trenton; it required much effort but in the end was successful, and the organization rehabbed a block of houses on Wilkinson Place, off North Willow Street. In 1969, Larry helped to establish the Neighborhood Health Center, now the Henry J. Austin Health Center, whose namesake Dr. Austin graduated from Howard University Medical School and committed his life to caring for Trenton’s underserved Black community in the early 20th century. Larry also worked with Bill Dwyer at the Serendipity Workshop, established in 1969, to provide free classes in writing to minority students and adults; one of the students in the program was Trenton’s Helen Jackson Lee, who told her first-hand story of racism in her book Nigger in the Window, published by Doubleday in 1978. Larry recalls bringing local children to Cranbury, NJ for ballet lessons given by Princeton Ballet School instructors. When asked about what he considers his biggest accomplishments, Larry says, “Trying to make my community better and helping people around me, in whatever way I can. I take care of my neighborhood — a number of houses around me, if they need painting or fixing up I do it myself or hire someone to do it. Sarah Dash was a friend of mine, I used to help her, and now I’m establishing a Sarah Dash Scholarship for music students.”
The Candlelight Lounge, recently closed at its Passaic Street location (but with hopeful plans to reopen elsewhere in town), is one of several arts venues that bear the Larry Hilton signature. Around 1964, Larry’s talent on alto sax was his entrée into the world of jazz. Long before the Candlelight, Larry was close to the center of the jazz world in New York and Philadelphia. From his young years, he played sax and found kindred souls among jazz musicians at the Fantasy Lounge on Chambers Street; Fantasy Lounge owner Sam Barge brought renowned saxophonist Stanley Turrentine to play there in the 60s. Across six decades Larry has connected with a “Who’s Who” of jazz greats: saxophonists Byard Lancaster and Sonny Stitt, jazz organist Don Patterson, singers Nancy Wilson and Billy Eckstine, guitarist Monette Sudler, and many others.
Since the 80s and until a few years ago, Larry volunteered as one of the prime movers at the Candlelight, helping to put the venue on the map in the jazz world; he drew on his connections to bring pianist Orrin Evans, saxophonist Darryl Yokley, and many other greats from New York and Philadelphia to perform at the Candlelight.
Larry Hilton’s name is especially well known among the local visual arts community. He became good friends with Mel Leipzig, Trenton’s nationally-known painter. “Larry is one of the biggest supporters of the arts in New Jersey — period!” says Mel. “I’m saying all the arts because it includes both visual arts and music. He introduced me to all these jazz musicians that I’ve painted. I think he’s terrific!”
Mel titled his portrait “Larry Hilton, Champion of African-American Artists” — with good reason. Larry has collected both African and African-American artists’ work, including paintings by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Hale Woodruff, and Jacob Lawrence, and photographs by Gordon Parks, who chronicled issues relating to poverty, urban life, and the civil rights movement. His collection also includes quilts by Loretta Bennett, a leading member of the well-known Gee’s Bend (Alabama) African-American quilting community. Painter Romare Bearden visited with Larry for a gala event at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton in the 80s. In the 80s and 90s, Larry operated the Bellevue Gallery, on Bellevue Avenue, as a venue focused on the work of Tom Malloy and other Black artists in Trenton. Larry is known well beyond Trenton too: the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond has a photo of Larry by the late Lou Draper, who taught photography at Mercer County Community College; the African American Museum of Cleveland named a gallery for him, and Atlanta, Georgia will soon open a sculpture garden that bears his name.
Kwenci Jones is a prominent Trenton visual artist who recently opened La Galerie Adrienne on West State Street. “I’ve known Larry for decades, and he knew Adrienne Hayling [the gallery namesake, and mother of Dr. Leslie A. Hayling, Jr.] well. Larry shared a lot of insight with me, so he was instrumental for me opening this gallery. He’s always been very involved with both cultural and civic activities.”
Dennis Jones (no relation to Kwenci), a local business owner, shares his own Larry Hilton story: “I met Larry years ago in a program at Princeton University, about well-known local artists. Larry’s life story about his appreciation for art is fascinating, he educated me. He encouraged me to buy what I like and also think of art as an investment, but not just an investment. It’s more than that — you have to love it! I acquired a piece by Danny Simmons, the abstract painter, and I occasionally buy pieces at auctions or galleries. Larry is amazing, he’s so well- respected not just in Trenton, but he’s very important in the art world. He also has this living wealth of knowledge about jazz people, and he’s so committed to helping the community!”
Despite Trenton’s challenges, Larry remains optimistic: “A lot of good stuff is going on here in the arts, more coming up all the time. I’m on the board at TCAT (Trenton Community A-Team). We work with young, untrained artists there, and they do shows all over.” TCAT is based at Studio 51 on North Stockton Street, where it provides studio and gallery space for the community. It is one of the many arts organizations whose imprints make Trenton a great city.
In an exciting development made possible through Larry Hilton’s support, for its 2025-26 season the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey is commissioning a symphony that reflects concerns over the climate emergency. John Hatch, board president of the Capital Philharmonic, says, “We wanted to commission a piece that connects with the issues of today, in particular climate change and climate justice. We invited Yusef Komunyakaa (Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Trenton resident) to work with us around existing music, but his suggestion was to collaborate from the beginning with the composer, Vince di Mura, so it became a more ambitious project. We’re looking forward to showcasing Trenton with world-class jazz musicians who will play with the Philharmonic and local choral groups.” (Vince di Mura is the resident musical director of the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University.)
