Skip Wilkins – Piano

Skip Wilkins was born in Massachusetts and raised in a musical family. He became interested in jazz at an early age and found his way to the stage in kindergarten. He learned to love singing, played drums for years, but then focused on piano, which became his main instrument by his late teens. As he was coming up in Boston, he worked with drummers Joe Hunt and Bob Moses and with saxophonists Jimmy Mosher and John LaPorta.

For many years, Skip has maintained an active international career as a pianist, composer, workshop presenter, jazz choral director and educator.  He is currently working on three new CD releases and has performed with a host of international luminaries throughout his career.  He performed often with Phil Woods, and is a featured soloist on Phil’s final big band release New Celebration.  Wherever he has lived, he has performed with and collaborated with top stars whenever they came to town – Phil Woods, David Liebman, Plas Johnson, Mark Murphy, Clark Terry, David Sánchez, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Watson, Bob Dorough, Conte Candoli and Peter Erskine, among so many others.

Skip performs throughout Europe in a variety of ensembles, with regular tours to the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Greece and France.  He keeps an apartment in Prague.  Stateside, he lives at Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA, surrounded by the great jazz community there.  Skip is Associate Professor of Music at Lafayette College, where he teaches music theory and jazz courses, and teaches jazz piano at Moravian College.

His current CD release is Czech Wishes (2019) – recorded in Prague with his son Dan and a stellar group of Czech musicians.  Later this summer he will release Someday – a local effort, again featuring his son Dan, along with bassist Tony Marino and legendary drummer Bill Goodwin.  In Morava, a trio recording he made in Prague early last year, will be released during the next two years.  Some of Skip’s previous CD releases include Trio WUH Live at Jazzinec (2014), Czech Dreams (2013), Father & Son – with his son Daniel (2012), After (2011), I Concentrate on You (2011), Frýdlant Nights (2010), and many more.

Each summer since 2007, Skip has taught and performed at the Karel Velebný Summer Jazz Workshop in Frýdlant, Czech Republic.  For four years he led the Jazz Ateliér at the Summer Choral Workshop in Lomnice u Tišnova, and twice taught at the International Jazz Workshop, Kryoneri, Greece.  He also teaches at the Moravian College Summer Jazz Camp.

For more, visit Skip Wilkins Jazz