by Troy Dostert, All About Jazz
Although he’s based in Eastern Pennsylvania, where he teaches at Lafayette College, pianist Skip Wilkins spends as much time as he can in the Czech Republic, the source of inspiration for his last two releases. Czech Dreams (New Port Line, 2013) and Czech Wishes, his current project, are not so much about crafting an Eastern European-tinged music, as Wilkins’ songwriting stays comfortably within the world of mainstream jazz. He does have an impressive trio of Czech musicians with him on this release, and it is clear that the people and culture of the Czech Republic have made quite an impression on Wilkins, who was fortunate to get a sabbatical from his teaching duties to compose the nine charts that make up this strong outing.
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