Immanuel Wilkins
De Mi caja de notas
Concert New Morning 2022-201
Nouvel album : "The 7th Hand" Repéré aux côtés de Solange, Wynton Marsalis, Gerald Clayton, Aaron Parks, Gretchen Parlato et Joel Ross, il vient en quartet nous présenter ses dernières compositions... A tout juste 24 ans, Immanuel Wilkins est l'un des saxophonistes les plus en vue de sa génération. Ce brillant altiste a une carrière prometteuse, et deux excellents albums au compteur : « Omega », nommé meilleur disque jazz en 2020 par le New York Times, et « The 7th Hand », sorti chez Blue Note le 28 janvier dernier.
Ils en parlent
Valeur montante du répertoire jazz, le saxophoniste Immanuel Wilkins revient avec « The 7th Hand », un second album particulièrement ambitieux. Prolongement d' « Omega », une expérience aux allures de suite, ce nouvel Lp puise notamment à la source religieuse comme l'indique la superbe pochette noir et blanc et sa référence au baptême chrétien.
Structurée en sept mouvements enchevêtrés, cette exploration de la psyché américaine (dans un autre domaine, on pense à l'homérique « O'Brother » des cinéastes Joel et Ethan Coen) est portée par un groupe soudé dont Micah Thomas au piano, Daryl Johns à la basse et Kweku Sumbry à la batterie. Variées, les six premières séquences offrent des paysages cohérents. « Don't Break » est ainsi animé par les percussions de l'ensemble Farafina Kan. Et « Lighthouse » renforce la dimension magnétique de l'entreprise avec ses soli fiévreux. Introspective, cette démarche tend aux universaux et renvoie, dos à dos, les concepts parfois galvaudés de tradition ou de modernité. Cette optique est flagrante à l'écoute de « Fugitive Ritual, Selah » et son invocation de la vague dite spiritual, mais également grâce à « Lift », une longue plage déchirée d'éclairs free (on dépasse ici les vingt minutes !) et parfait contrepoint d'un disque bluffant. (Starwax)
Immanuel Wilkins | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 7, 1997 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Instruments | Alto saxophone |
| Website | |immanuelwilkins.com |
Immanuel Wilkins (born August 7, 1997) is an American jazz saxophonist.[1][2]
Life and work
Wilkins, who is of African American heritage, grew up in the Upper Darby neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He gained his first musical experiences in his community church, which led him to attend jazz courses at the Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts.
In 2009, as a teenager, he had the opportunity to perform the national anthem before the Philadelphia Eagles game.
Wilkins studied at the Juilliard School under Bruce Williams, Steve Wilson, and Joe Temperley.
To date, Wilkins has worked with Jason Moran, Gerald Clayton, Joel Ross, EJ Strickland, David Weiss, Ben Wolfe, the Count Basie Orchestra (Ghost Band), Gretchen Parlato, Solange Knowles, Bob Dylan, Harish Raghavan (Calls for Action, 2019), and Wynton Marsalis. He also contributed to Michael Dease's album, Father Figure (PosiTone, 2015).
Wilkins led his own band in the late 2010s, performing his own compositions and performing at jazz clubs and venues such as The Jazz Gallery, Smoke, Jamaica Center of Arts and Smalls.[3]
In 2020, he presented the debut album Omega , which he had recorded with Micah Thomas, Daryl Johns, and Kweku Sumbry.[4][5]
Wilkins is a member of a quartet with Dezron Douglas, Johnathan Blake, and The Generation Gap and the formations of Philip Dizack and Noam Wiesenberg. He also contributed to Good Vibes' first two albums KingMaker (2019) and Who Are You? (2020), as well as Johnathan Blake's 2021 album, Homeward Bound (2021) and Kalia Vandever's 2022 album, Regrowth.
Discography
As leader
- Omega (Blue Note Records, 2020)[6][7]
- The 7th Hand (Blue Note Records, 2022)
As a sideman
- Johnathan Blake, Homeward Bound (Blue Note Records, 2021)
- Johnathan Blake, Passage (Blue Note Records, 2023)
- Michael Dease, Father Figure (Posi-Tone Records, 2016)
- Orrin Evans, The Magic of Now (Smoke Sessions Records, 2021)
- Joe Farnsworth, In What Direction Are You Headed? (Smoke Sessions Records, 2023)
- James Francies, Purest Form (Blue Note Records, 2021)
- Giveton Gelin, True Design (2020)
- Harish Raghavan, Calls for Action (Whirlwind Recordings, 2019)
- Joel Ross, KingMaker (Blue Note Records, 2019)
- Joel Ross, Who Are You? (Blue Note Records, 2020)
- Joel Ross, The Parable of the Poet (Blue Note Records, 2022)
- Joel Ross, nublues (Blue Note Records, 2024)
- Kalia Vandever, Regrowth (New Amsterdam Records, 2022)
- Noam Wiesenberg, Roads Diverge (Brooklyn Jazz Underground, 2018)
- Dutch Williams, Maaj Paaj (EFFESS Records, 2023)
- Ben Wolfe, Fatherhood (Resident Arts Records, 2019)
- Ben Wolfe, Unjust (Resident Arts Records, 2023)
- Various Artists, Kimbrough (Newvelle Records, 2021)
References
- ^ Conrad, Thomas (August 13, 2020). "Immanuel Wilkins: Omega (Blue Note)". JazzTimes. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "Immanuel Wilkins Speaks To Black Experience In America". downbeat.com. December 9, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "Immanuel Wilkins profile". SmallsLIVE. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ Kreye, Andrian (December 14, 2020). "Jazzkolumne: Die Jazz-Alben des Jahres 2020". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ londonjazz (August 14, 2020). "Immanuel Wilkins – "Omega"". London Jazz News. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ Adam Sieff (August 14, 2020). "Immanuel Wilkins – "Omega"". London Jazz News. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ Ed Enright (December 9, 2020). "Immanuel Wilkins Speaks to Black Experience in America". Down Beat 12/2020. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
Further reading
- Hinauf zum Tiefgrund. Vol. 71. 2022. pp. 48–49.
External links
- Webpräsenz
- Immanuel Wilkins at AllMusic
- Immanuel Wilkins discography at Discogs
- In Quest of Spirited Sounds: Immanuel Wilkins Speaks (Interview)
