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Pianist Skip Wilkins, assistant professor of music, will perform in a jazz quartet 8 p.m. Friday at the Williams Center for the Arts.
Wilkins and vocalist Doris Spears will give a noon preview of the concert that day in the Williams Center. Both events are free and open to the public.
The evening concert will feature Wilkins and Spears with tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna, bassist Roy Cumming, and drummer Glenn Davis.
Wilkins performs regularly at the Blue Orchid Inn in Mertztown, Pa. His recent local engagements include one with the Bill Warfield Quartet at Petro’s Cafe and Coffee Bar and another with vocalist Marcy Deising and bassist Scott Lee at Indulge, both in Allentown.
For more than 25 years, Wilkins has enjoyed performing with many accomplished musicians, including saxophonists David Liebman, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Watson, and Plas Johnson; vocalists Jill Allen and Mark Murphy; trumpeters Clark Terry and Conte Candoli; trombonist Al Grey; bassist Milt Hinton; and drummers Bob Moses, Joe Hunt, and Peter Erskine.
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, including a three-star review from Karl Stark in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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 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 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.