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Jazz pianist Skip Wilkins, assistant professor of music at Lafayette, will perform in concert, 7-11 p.m. Thursday at Blue Orchard Inn, 565 State Street, Mertztown, Pa.
Wilkins' program features the theme “Yours, Mine & Ours,” with the following songs: “Yours is My Heart Alone,” “Our Love is Here to Stay,” “Everything I Have is Yours,” “Close Your Eyes,” “This Love of Mine,” “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Save Your Love For Me,” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” “Our Day Will Come,” “Button Up Your Overcoat,” “Sing for Your Supper,” “The Touch of Your Lips,” “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” “Our Delight,” “When Your Lover Has Gone,” “In Your Own Sweet Way,” “Will You Still Be Mine?” “Only Trust Your Heart,” and “Don't Let Your Eyes Go Shopping for Your Heart.”
The Skip Wilkins Quartet performed a free concert at the Williams Center March 21.
For more than 25 years, Wilkins has enjoyed performing with many accomplished musicians, including saxophonists David Liebman, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Watson, and Plas Johnson; vocalist Mark Murphy; trumpeters Clark Terry and Conte Candoli; trombonist Al Grey; bassist Milt Hinton; drummers Bob Moses, Joe Hunt, and Peter Erskine; and flutist Jill Allen. Recently, he has played at Lehigh Valley venues such as Easton's Café Aaron and far beyond.
In 2001, Wilkins and Allen released Petty Theft on Cathexis Records. Featuring the Wilkins & Allen Quartet and Grammy-nominated saxophonist David Liebman, the CD received significant airplay and positive reviews nationwide. It received a three-star review from Karl Stark in the Philadelphia Inquirer. It is available in a variety of national retail outlets and independent stores where jazz recordings are sold, as well as from major Internet sources.
Previously, Wilkins & Allen released Two Much Fun! on Eaglear Records. Some of their highlight performances together include New York's Tavern on the Green and The Wichita Jazz Festival, and tours around the United States.
Wilkins teaches courses in music theory and jazz at Lafayette. Previously, he taught at the 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 the University of Northern Colorado. He also studied jazz composition and arrangement with Herb Pomeroy at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and is a former faculty member at Berklee.
Wilkins is a 2001 fellowship recipient from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, receiving an award for excellence in jazz composition. Many of the compositions for which he was recognized are included on Petty Theft.