Lou Walinsky's fingers dance across the piano keys with the confidence of a lifelong musician - a remarkable feat for someone who once faced a career-threatening diagnosis of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.

The 79-year-old Mt. Airy jazz pianist has just released "Adventures with Standards," his third CD, marking another milestone in a musical journey that almost ended in 1996.

"I needed to relearn every aspect of playing the piano," Walinsky said, describing his battle with the condition that causes pain, numbness and tingling in the hand and arm, particularly affecting the thumb, index and middle fingers. The condition occurs when the median nerve, one of the major nerves to the hand, is squeezed or compressed.

"I believe that bad postural habits had produced my symptoms and that without correcting them, even if I would have gotten carpal tunnel surgery, the symptoms would have simply come up all over again," he said.

Walinsky's path to recovery led him to various healers, most notably classical pianist Sheila Paige from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the founder and director of the "Piano Wellness" approach. "Over a lengthy period of time, she helped me learn and incorporate healthy, best practices into my playing. It took five years to get back to normalcy," he said.

A Philadelphia native who grew up in Wynnefield, Walinsky has called Mt. Airy home for 28 years, following a 17-year stint in Germantown. His musical journey includes two previous albums: "Music from Many Places" (1995) and "Lou Walinsky Piano Arrangements." The first album's success led to two concerts at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C., which he describes as his "favorite performances of all time."

His musical palette extends beyond jazz to include Irish music, reggae, country, Jewish and Latin music - "any music that feels soulful to me," he said.

The new CD, recorded at MorningStar Studios in Norriton with sound engineers Glenn Barrett and Dave Schonauer, features Walinsky's jazzy interpretations of Great American Songbook classics. His renditions of "Over the Rainbow," "At Last," "What a Wonderful World," "My Favorite Things," "That's What Friends are for" and "Sweet Georgia Brown" showcase his masterful technique.

"Creating and performing music enriches my life," Walinsky said, "and I hope that my music enriches the lives of others as well. I believe that music lies at the very heart and soul of an emotionally, spiritually and aesthetically full life."

His accomplishments include recognition as Artist of the Month by Braver Angels, a national organization working to reduce political polarization, in July 2021. He has also received a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for three concerts of his arrangements at community centers and a health care facility, performed just before the pandemic.

Two years ago, Walinsky stopped giving private lessons to focus on developing his music and spending time with family, including his five grandchildren. His wife, Nina Gordon, is a ceramic artist, and their younger daughter, Sonia Gordon-Walinsky, is a calligrapher and visual artist. Sonia's husband, Mordechai Schram, runs Hamutzim, a local fermented pickling business. Their older daughter, Naomi Walinsky-King, serves as a family physician and senior medical director of Population Health at Delaware Valley Community Health, while her husband, Gary King, works as a community activist and composer/producer in advertising.

The new CD is available through louwalinsky.bandcamp.com and at Hideaway Music in Chestnut Hill, as well as on major streaming platforms. 

For more information, visit louwalinsky.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com