Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Spike Wilner Trio Contrafactus: The Children & The Warlock

Spike Wilner Trio Contrafactus: The Children & The Warlock

By Jack Bowers
June 30, 2025
View read count

Spike Wilner Trio Contrafactus: The Children & The Warlock

A parodist might quip that Trio Contrafactus is simply another name for a quartet, as that is what pianist and entreprenuer

Spike Wilner

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Spike Wilner is leading on his new recording, The Children & the Warlock, wherein Wilner and his rhythm section (

Paul Gill

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Gill, bass;

Anthony Pinciotti

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Pinciotti, drums) are flanked by renowned tenor saxophonist

George Garzone

saxophone, tenor
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">George Garzone.

Wilner writes that the album is a tribute to one of his teachers, the late pianist and composer

" data-original-title="" title="">Harry Whitaker, who wrote its title song and to whom Wilner and Garzone's erratic composition, "Moment to Moment" (also the name of Whitaker's band), is dedicated. As spontaneity was Whitaker's credo, the trio (pardon; quartet) strive to create a similar ambience, one whose stance of creativity is free and relatively unimpeded by special norms.

It is designed, in other words, to resemble a footloose blowing session in which concentration and awareness are the watchwords. As such, it works rather well, although most avenues of that nature house their inevitable twists and potholes, impediments that Wilner and his colleagues are either unwilling or unable to avoid. These include but are not limited to the sort of melodic and rhythmic imbalance that too often inhabit a freer jazz sphere to the detriment of one's listening pleasure. Even though everyone is playing well and giving the music the best he has to offer, the result is too often more cluttered than coherent.

There are pleasing moments of poise and clarity, as on

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane's fast-paced "Miles' Mode" and

Frank Lacy

trombone
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Lacy's groovy "Theme for Ernie," but they are outweighed by the relative disorder that overspreads the other themes, starting with "Hey, Open Up!" and continuing for the most part through "Child & Warlock," "Benediction," "Moment to Moment" and "Re-Solution." As noted, everyone plays well, and the music the Trio Contrafactus creates will no doubt linger more sweetly in other ears than it does in these. The effort is duly noted and appreciated; the result, somewhat less so.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Hey, Open Up!; The Child and the Warlock; Benediction; Miles�� Mode; Theme for Ernie; Moment to Moment (for Harry Whitaker); Re-Solution.

Personnel

Spike Wilner

piano

George Garzone

saxophone, tenor

Paul Gill

bass, acoustic

Anthony Pinciotti

drums

Album information

Title: The Children & The Warlock | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Cellar Music Group

PREVIOUS / NEXT

The German Jazz Prize: Efficiency, A...
< Previous

Dena DeRose, Amina Claudine Myers, T...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.