FEB 17-19 | The Next Wave
Feb 18, 2022
Joe Henderson Lab
PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production
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Original show description below.
It’s clear from the first note that 24-year-old alto saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins is one of the vital voices of jazz in the 21st century. The 2021 LetterOne RISING STARS Jazz Award winner brings his longstanding quartet to the Joe Henderson Lab for their San Francisco debut, performing music from his upcoming sophomore Blue Note recording The 7th Hand, to be released in January 2022.
A native of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Wilkins moved to New York in 2015 for studies at the Juilliard School, meeting a pair of mentors who helped establish his professional career — Oakland-born trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist Jason Moran. It was through Moran that Wilkins made his SFJAZZ debut in October 2017, performing as part of In My Mind, the pianist’s multi-media recreation of Thelonious Monk’s landmark 1959 Town Hall concert. Since then, Wilkins has worked with a range of artists including Wynton Marsalis, Joel Ross, Solange, and Gerald Clayton.
Wilkins’ Blue Note debut, Omega, was produced by Moran and is a meditation on the Black experience in America, featuring the saxophonist’s working quartet including pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Daryl Johns, and drummer Kweku Sumbry. The session took the #1 spot on The New York Times’ list of Best Jazz Albums of 2020.
Wilkins’ Blue Note debut, Omega, was produced by Moran and is a meditation on the Black experience in America, featuring the saxophonist’s working quartet, and took the #1 spot on The New York Times’ list of Best Jazz Albums of 2020.
Immanuel Wilkins is an alto saxophonist with a glowing tone, a sharp working band and all manner of smart ideas about song form.
NPR
Immanuel Wilkins is an alto saxophonist with a glowing tone, a sharp working band and all manner of smart ideas about song form.
NPR
Personnel
Immanuel Wilkins alto saxophone
Micah Thomas piano
Daryl Johns bass
Kweku Sumbry drums
'Omega' is the most important debut jazz recording in years.
JazzTimes
Personnel
Immanuel Wilkins alto saxophone
Micah Thomas piano
Daryl Johns bass
Kweku Sumbry drums
'Omega' is the most important debut jazz recording in years.
JazzTimes
Watch & Listen
Immanuel Wilkins
Grace and Mercy
Immanuel Wilkins
Warriors
Immanuel Wilkins
Grace and Mercy
Immanuel Wilkins
Warriors