1) Jack Wilkin… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name, including:
1) Jack Wilkins (born Jack Rivers Lewis on 4 June 1944; died 5 May 2023) was an American jazz guitarist;
2) Jack Wilkins (born Ashby Jackson Wilkins) is an American jazz saxophonist.
1) Jack Wilkins (born Jack Rivers Lewis in Brooklyn, NYC, on 4 June 1944; died 5 May 2023) was an American jazz guitarist. Wilkins grew up listening to his parents' music - Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday. He started playing guitar when he was thirteen. He had an older cousin who played albums for him by Charlie Christian, Tal Farlow, Django Reinhardt, and Johnny Smith. He cited Smith's Designed for You as one of the albums that meant the most to him, in addition to Sounds of Synanon by Joe Pass, Poll Winners by Barney Kessel, The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow, and Interpretations of Tal Farlow. Having studied with John Mehegan early on, learning vibes, piano, and classical guitar, his main instrument throughout his career was jazz guitar. He gained a strong reputation during his long association with Buddy Rich.
While still in his teens, he worked as a guitarist in bands led by Les Elgart, Larry Elgart, Warren Covington, and Sammy Kaye.
Wilkins worked with Dan Armstrong, Lew Soloff, Lew Tabackin, and Lloyd Wells. In his twenties, he worked as a vibraphonist. He formed the band The Jazz Partners and played vibes with pianist Barry Manilow, who admired the work of Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Barney Kessel. Wilkins and Manilow arranged songs from Kessel's albums for their group. A copy of his first solo album, Windows (Mainstream, 1973), found its way into the hands of Buddy Rich's manager. Wilkins then became a member of the Buddy Rich septet.
Wilkins also worked with Kenny Barron, Frank Foster, Sonny Fortune, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Jimmy McGriff, Sal Nistico, Zoot Sims, Sonny Stitt, Jack DeJohnette, Phil Woods, and the Brecker Brothers.
He recorded as a sideman with Jack DeJohnette, Eddie Gomez, Phil Woods, Harvie Swartz, and the Brecker Brothers, among others. His own recordings for Mainstream, Music Masters, CTI, and especially his pair of essential Chiaroscuro albums in 1977 (the single CD Merge reissued all of the music except one song) show his talents.
2) Jack Wilkins (born Ashby Jackson Wilkins) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has released "Ridge Lines" in 2002, "The Blue & Green Project" in 2011, "The Rundle Sessions" in 2019.
Prelude to a Kiss
Jack Wilkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A song in blue
Like a flower crying
For the dew
That was my heart serenading you
My prelude to a kiss
If you hear a song that grows
That was my heart trying to compose
A prelude to a kiss
Though it's just a simple melody
With nothing fancy
Nothing much
You could turn it to a symphony
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch
Oh how my love song gently cries
For the tenderness within your eyes
My love is a prelude that never dies
A prelude to a kiss
Though it's just a simple melody
With nothing fancy
Nothing much
You could turn it to a symphony
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch
Oh how my love song so gently cries
For the tenderness within your eyes
My love is a prelude that never dies
A prelude to a kiss
The lyrics to Jack Wilkins's song Prelude to a Kiss are a declaration of love and tender longing. The song uses the metaphor of a melody to express the depth of emotions that the singer holds for his loved one. He likens his heart to a song that is both simple and sentimental, crying out for attention and affection like a flower longing for the dew. The song becomes a prelude to a kiss, a gentle and intimate gesture that symbolizes the depth of the singer's love.
The lyrics also imply the power of music to convey feelings that are too deep for words. The melody that the singer has in his heart is just a simple tune, but it can be turned into a symphony or given a touch of the great composers like Shubert and Gershwin. This suggests that love and music have a shared language that can express the beauty and complexity of human emotions.
Overall, the song Prelude to a Kiss speaks of the timeless and universal theme of love, using the imagery of music to convey the singer's emotions. It is a beautiful and poetic tribute to the power of love and its ability to inspire creativity and beauty in all aspects of life.
Line by Line Meaning
If you hear
If you happen to come across
A song in blue
A melancholy tune
Like a flower crying
As if it were a flower shedding tears
For the dew
Longing for the freshness of the morning
That was my heart serenading you
That was my heart singing to capture your heart
My prelude to a kiss
This is my way of letting you know how much I love you
If you hear a song that grows
If you hear a tune that develops
From my tender sentimental woes
From the depths of my sensitive emotions
That was my heart trying to compose
That was my heart aiming to create a beautiful tune for you
A prelude to a kiss
A precursor to expressing my feelings to you
Though it's just a simple melody
Although it's just a basic tune
With nothing fancy
Without any extravagance
Nothing much
Not anything incredibly notable
You could turn it to a symphony
It has the potential to become something quite grand
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch
A composition combining the elegance of Schubert with the flair of Gershwin
Oh how my love song gently cries
Oh, how my ballad subtly weeps
For the tenderness within your eyes
For the affection I perceive in your gaze
My love is a prelude that never dies
My adoration for you is everlasting
A prelude to a kiss
A precursor to expressing my love for you
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, IRVING MILLS, IRVING GORDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ariel Tinajero
Please do Jack's arrangement of Red Clay!
Josh Ferguson
Jack is on par with or better than most players including Joe Grant Wes and Barney
leoosiku
The wonderful and awesome Jack Wilkins!
md54
I suspect that this piece was composed rather than improvised but who cares?
Zal Moxis
Super stuff....
Joan Vive Comas
Booooo💓
Dystopia
Jazz like this sounds like someone just testing out every chord and note and practicing toying around... Terrible... This isnt a song its its an exploration of theory. Not a single melody. Even the chromatic lines are stale.
Chickenman161
lol what are you doing here then mate
Rodrigo Alonso López Gallardo
@Dystopia Ok bro, interesting, justified and unpopular opinion, congratulations. You already left your comment, you can also put a unlike if you wish. Is there anything else for you then? :o
md54
Very funny. Or very pathetic. Not actually sure which.