Student, pianist attracts musical community

The ambient sounds of “Wake Up” by indie-rock band Arcade Fire permeate the rooms of… The ambient sounds of “Wake Up” by indie-rock band Arcade Fire permeate the rooms of Pitt’s William Pitt Union. Circling around into the International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame, a room created to honor jazz musicians, Reggie Wilkins is seated at a bench in front of a Yamaha upright piano.

His hands gracefully glide across the piano, his fingers gently pressing down on the keys. He doesn’t use sheet music when he plays because he has learned to listen to the sounds of songs and replicate them.

The 23-year-old senior majoring in architecture is widely known on campus not only for his spikey dreads, but also for his abilities on the piano.

Wilkins, through his playing, has found a niche for himself in Pittsburgh. And although he says that he plays for himself, Wilkins has unintentionally shaped a musical community around him.

“I definitely play for myself, but I like when other people are enjoying the music that I play, so it’s like we’re sharing the experience,” Wilkins said.

Last week, Wilkins gathered a few of his friends to have a late night “jam session” in the WPU.

The jam sessions are casual events where Wilkins and his friends get together to just enjoy playing music. There is no structure because the goal is to make music, said Wilkins, pushing a xylophone forward to encourage me to play along with them, even though I’m not familiar with the instrument.

John Chriest, 21, and Matt Koenig, 20, played the guitars while Pitt sophomore Phyllicia Leavitt played the drums. Pitt sophomore Becky Dulberg eventually took up the xylophone.

Music has forged the relationships between Reggie and his friends. Chriest and Koenig were playing in Schenley Plaza about a year ago when they met Wilkins. Leavitt approached Wilkins while he was playing his electric keyboard in Schenley Plaza almost a year ago. Dulberg, Wilkins’ girlfriend, met the pianist several months ago at a show at which he was performing. She went up to compliment him on his playing.

The group has a symbiotic relationship, and each person can tell what the other is going to play. They speed up or slow down the tempo together. They increase the volume or play more softy together.

Even though Wilkins will improvise what he plays, Koenig said that he knows Wilkins’ style well enough that he usually knows what he’ll play.

Wilkins starts with ambient music on the piano, and everyone is relaxed. He said that he tries to play certain piano keys consistently so as not to throw anyone off.

“Whatever I feel, I play,” Wilkins said. “I usually make up what I play, so I never really know what I’m going to play. I usually know what sounds good, but I never have specific keys that I plan to play in a specific order.”

Eventually, the tempo got faster, and the volume got louder. Chriest started excitedly slapping an empty, plastic juice bottle against a table. Everyone was looking at each other, smiles on their faces, laughing.

Wilkins’ eyes were closed, he slowly swayed as his fingers danced across the keys.

“Sometimes people have mistaken me for a blind person when I’m playing and getting really into it,” Wilkins said.

The sounds drew attention from three freshmen, who leaned in the door to watch the performance.

Kristen Tigman said that she has seen Wilkins play in the Union before, and she’s watched him perform at local college parties, which Wilkins plays at often. This was the first time that Tigman heard Wilkins playing with a group of people.

“I think it’s a gift,” she said, referring to the ability of the people to play so well together. “They just let the music progress. It doesn’t have to be structured.”

Wilkins has never had any formal piano lessons. He took his first class on the fundamentals of music this year. He said he’s mostly using the class to learn how to read sheet music and how to communicate with other musicians using technical jargon.

He taught himself to play the piano when he was a teenager growing up in Washington, D.C. His grandmother bought his family a little toy keyboard from RadioShack when he was 13 years old, and he was immediately hooked.

“I just couldn’t leave it alone,” Wilkins said. “I kept playing on it.”

Wilkins comes from a family that has ofteconnectedmusically. His mother and sister sing, mostly at their church in Washington.

“There was a lot of singing, but not a lot of instruments played in the house,” Wilkins said. “I’m not the best singer, so it worked out well that I could play for them.”

He first played jazzy music. After he started playing for his church, he “picked up a more soulful style.”

When Wilkins came to Pitt, he was able to play string pianos, which he said “didn’t sound as artificial as the keyboard.”

He couldn’t stop playing the piano, almost like he was addicted to creating music. He plays anywhere from one hour to six hours a day, depending on his class schedule.

“It’s like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t walk past the Union, or else I’m going to want to walk in and play,’” Wilkins said.

The music at black churches has remained an influence that has weaved in and out of the music he plays.

After moving to Pittsburgh, he found another church to play at. Every Sunday he plays at the Second Baptist Church in Penn Hills. The church allows him to play whatever he wants.

With all of the positive experiences that playing the piano has brought Wilkins, he is considering turning what he’s passionate about into a career.

He has played outside of the Union, performing at the Shadow Lounge in East Liberty, Garfield Artworks on Penn Avenue and Howlers Coyote Cafe in Bloomfield.

Editor’s note: Phyllicia Leavitt is a staff writer.