Koan Spike Wilner

• 1 Iceberg Slim 04:21
• 2 Koan 05:16
• 3 Warm Valley 05:23
• 4 I'll See You Again 03:47
• 5 Hot House 04:20
• 6 Monkey Mind 03:02
• 7 Gypsy Without A Song 04:59
• 8 Trick Baby 06:19
• 9 Three Ring Circus 04:59
• 10 Young At Heart 04:56
• 11 Lonely Woman 07:02
• 12 Blues For The Common Man 06:22
• Total Runtime 01:00:46

Info for Koan

koan - a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.

Pianist Spike Wilner contemplates with passionate reverence and goes all zen on his new release "Koan." With a captivating musical program investigating the paradoxical nature of the mind and exploring the hidden nature of romance, Wilner leads his trio steadily beyond the landmarks of the past while carrying tradition forward into fresh realms of modern melodic improvisation. The message is moving and their statement is solid as Wilner's piano trio shines brightly and swings sweetly behind the able support of bassist Tyler Mitchell and the explosive metrics of drummer Anthony Pinciotti. On "Koan," Spike Wilner lets the music flow through him and succeeds in putting forth an emotionally engaging performance of uplifting joy and brooding intensity that is sure to bring bright moments of intense delight to jazz fans everywhere.

Spike Wilner, piano
Tyler Mitchell, bass
Anthony Pinciotti, drums

Michael Spike Wilner
was born in the city of Manhattan. His father is a professor of Hematology and his mother a clinical social worker. Spike hails from a direct line to a famous rabbinical dynasty founded by his great-great-great grandfather, Moses Sofer, who was also a Kabbala master & mystic. His grandmother, Marie Wilner, was a well respected painter in the Abstract Impressionist style. She was active on the New York art scene of the 1930’s through the 1960’s and created an enigmatic body of work.

Spike was inspired to play ragtime piano at a young age after seeing a docudrama on the life of Scott Joplin. This led to a life-long passion for piano playing, ragtime and jazz music. Spike made his performance debut at the age of 14 by playing Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag at the St. Louis Ragtime Festival, then held on the Goldenrod Showboat moored on the Mississippi River. Spike continued his music studies through high-school and participated in its award winning jazz band.

Spike entered into the first class of the, now legendary, New School For Social Research’s Jazz and Contemporary Music Program, then led by the late Arnie Lawrence. In this original class, Spike met and befriended many of today’s prominent members of the current jazz scene. This included: Brad Mehldau, Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Jesse Davis, Chris Potter, Jorge Rossi, Sam Yahel, Joe Strasser, Roy Hargrove, John Popper (of the Blues Travlers), Eric Schenkman (of the Spin Doctors) David Grausman and others. Spike entered into a period of intense study and worked with many great teachers. Of the most important were: Barry Harris, Jaki Byard, Kenny Werner, Walter Davis Jr., Kenny Barron, Mark Thompson, Harry Whitaker, Fred Hersch, Johnny O’Neal and Terry Waldo.

Spike performed with and has led many bands in New York City at many famous, now closed, jazz clubs including The Village Gate, The Angry Squire, Visiones, Augies, The West End Gate and The Village Corner. Spike also toured with The Artie Shaw Big Band, The Glen Miller Orchestra and Maynard Furgeson.

Spike has several recordings out under his name including A Blues of Many Colors (Freshsound/New Talent), Planet Jazz (Sharp Nine) and Three To Go (Positone). Spike has published a folio of transcriptions of the work of Willie The Lion Smith entitled The Lion Of The Piano: 9 Compostions by Willie The Lion Smith. Spike completed his Masters Degree in Piano Performance at the State University of New York in Purchase, New York in 2007.

In 1994, Spike began to work a regular gig at Smalls Jazz Club. This became his permanent musical home and eventually led to his current position there as a partner and manager of the club. Spike now spends most of his time at Smalls and still plays there regularly with his group.

In May of 2010, Spike launched the record label SmallsLIVE which focuses on high quality audio recordings of performances from Smalls Jazz Club. With 16 diverse and exciting titles currently availabe and 4 more for release by 2011, SmallsLIVE anticpates a production of 1 project per month. Spike’s own project – Spike Wilner, Solo Piano: Live At Smalls, just received a glowing review in The New York Times Art & Leisure.

This album contains no booklet.