This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Following the success of the critically acclaimed “Skip Wilkins Quintet: Volume I,” Skip Wilkins, assistant professor of music, has released the companion album, “Skip Wilkins Quintet: Volume II,” on Dreambox Media.
“Volume I” and “Volume II” were recorded at the same time in the spring of 2005 on stage at the WilliamsCenter for the Arts. Wilkins chose to release the project in two installments to introduce listeners to the quintet.
In addition to Wilkins on piano, recording and performing musicians include Paul Kendall on tenor saxophone, Tom Kozic on guitar, Tony Marino on bass, and Gary Rissmiller on drums.
“I quickly divided the tracks onto two CDs, balancing moods and tempos for listening purposes,” explains Wilkins. “Everyone got used to listening to the tracks this way and we found we liked it. Nine tunes ended up on ‘Volume I’ and nine on ‘Volume II.’ While I present the recordings as two volumes, the two are inextricably linked.
“Really, how do you begin a recording project of 18 compositions? Which piece do you play first? I think you just begin. As I recall, that’s what we did. We showed up on the first day of the recording and started making music. We let it flow. The rest is documented here on ‘Volume II’ and on its predecessor, ‘Volume I.’”
The quintet will make a number of appearances in support of the new CD. At Lafayette, it will perform 9 p.m. Friday, June 1 during the Reunion social and dance. It also will perform 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31 at the Fall Kick-off Concert in the WilliamsCenter.
Appearances outside the College include 7 p.m. April 26 at the Blue Orchid Inn, 1565 State St., Mertztown, Pa.; 3 p.m. May 26 at Mayfair on the Lakeside Stage in Allentown, Pa.; 9 p.m. June 6 at Chris’s Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St., Philadelphia; 8 p.m. June 29 at Cleopatra’s Needle, 2485 Broadway/92nd St., New York City; and 6:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at Musikfest on the Banana Island Stage in Bethlehem, Pa.
Campus performances are free. For more information on the additional appearances, contact the individual venues.
Wilkins also will have a busy teaching schedule this summer. He is teaching and performing at the IAJE Teacher Training Institute, an international pedagogy conference being held June 21-23 at MoravianCollege. Wilkins will work with music teachers ranging from freelance piano instructors to college, high school, and middle school band, orchestra, and choir directors. The institute faculty will perform June 23 at the Deerhead Inn, 5 Main St., Delaware Water Gap, Pa. Enrollment is still open.
Wilkins will return to Moravian July 8-15 to participate in the July Jazz Getaway. The event is a workshop for serious adult amateurs that draws non-professional musicians from around the country. He will present master classes to piano participants. Enrollment is still open.
He also will tour, perform, and teach Aug. 17-26 in the CzechRepublic. He is confirmed for the Karel Velebny Summer Jazz Workshop in Frydlant; other dates in Prague are pending.
“Most of the kind of performing I do comes about through old-fashioned hard work,” Wilkins says. “There are numerous jazz festivals and jazz clubs all around the world. I spend a lot of time creating the work that I have for myself, both as a sideman and as a leader of various ensembles.”
The Skip Wilkins Quintet expects to record its third CD together in June, which is slated for release in August 2008. The group is premiering new compositions in its current performances.
“We work out the material in rehearsal, but especially in live performances, which is dangerous and very exciting,” says Wilkins. “Then we know what to do with the music when it is time to record.”
Joining the Lafayette faculty full-time in 2001, Wilkins received a fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for excellence in jazz composition. His music has received positive reviews from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Detroit Free Press, Morning Call, Express Times, Improvijazzation, and 52nd Street Jazz. He has performed at acclaimed venues such as the Deer Head Inn, Blue Orchid Inn, Allentown Symphony Hall, Wichita Jazz Festival, and Tavern on the Green. Previously, Wilkins taught at University of Northern Colorado, spending many of his eight years there in the nationally acclaimed jazz studies program. He earned a bachelor’s degree from College of the Holy Cross and a master’s degree from University of NorthernColorado. He also studied jazz composition and arrangement with Herb Pomeroy at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was a faculty member.
For more information on “Volume I,” visit the following links:
Additional information on Wilkins’ music can be found at www.skipwilkinsjazz.com.