Immanuel Wilkins

Hailing from Upper Darby near Philadelphia, Immanuel Wilkins works as a jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His alto saxophone delivers a rounded, warm, and emotionally resonant tone shaped by both the jazz lineage and gospel traditions. Beginning in his late teens, he became a sought-after touring sideman for an unusually broad range of performers that includes Jason Moran, Gretchen Parlato, Solange Knowles, Bob Dylan, and Wynton Marsalis. Although alto remains his principal instrument, he also commands soprano and tenor saxophones with equal facility. In recording sessions he has contributed to projects led by bassists Ben Wolfe and Harish Raghavan as well as vibraphonist Joel Ross, while maintaining a regular chair as altoist in Orrin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band. Blue Note issued his Moran-produced debut album Omega in 2020. Two years afterward came his second release, The 7th Hand, an hour-long suite cast in seven movements. In October 2024 he delivered Blues Blood, his third Blue Note recording.

Wilkins grew up in Upper Darby, roughly a mile beyond Philadelphia’s city limits, under the guidance of parents who valued music. He started violin lessons at age three, moved to piano a few years later, and took up the saxophone in third grade after realizing that owning an instrument would allow him to join the school band a year ahead of schedule—an argument he presented to his mother. She purchased the horn, impressed by both his reasoning and his evident musical drive. Wilkins refined his technique through church performances and through jazz-focused programs at Philadelphia’s Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. At twelve he was chosen to perform the “Star Spangled Banner” at a Philadelphia Eagles game. He continued formal studies at his high school and at the Kimmel Center, where master classes and workshops featured drummer Mickey Roker, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, saxophonist Steve Coleman, and Sun Ra Arkestra leader Marshall Allen. In 2015 Wilkins relocated to New York City to enroll at the Juilliard School, completing his bachelor’s degree there under Bruce Williams and Joe Temperley. While in the city he formed a close association with trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire, who served as both mentor and guide through the local jazz community. He also encountered Jason Moran, who recognized the young saxophonist’s distinctive sound and quickly enlisted him for the touring production “In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall, 1959,” a series of concerts celebrating the legacy of the pianist Thelonious Monk.

Beyond his performing career, Wilkins teaches at NYU and the New School and has conducted master classes and clinics at Oberlin, Yale, and the Kimmel Center. While still at Juilliard he assembled his own quartet featuring pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Daryl Johns, and drummer Kweku Sumbry; the group performed original material and provided support for vocalists and other soloists throughout New York. In 2018 he began an association with vibraphonist Joel Ross that resulted in a featured role on Ross’s 2019 Blue Note debut KingMaker. That same year Wilkins, Ross, Thomas, and Sumbry joined bassist and arranger Harish Raghavan on the Whirlwind Recordings album Calls for Action. Later in 2019 Wilkins signed with Blue Note. Entering Sear Sound Studio with his quartet and Moran as producer, he recorded Omega, a set of eleven original compositions released in August 2020. The music, previewed by the April single “Warriors,” drew upon historical events, the Civil Rights movement, the spiritual practices of the Black church, and ongoing efforts toward racial justice in America—concerns underscored by the tracks “Ferguson—An American Tradition” and “Mary Turner—An American Tradition.” Also in 2020 Wilkins appeared on Joel Ross’s follow-up Who Are You? and on Orrin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band’s The Intangible Between.

January 2022 brought the release of The 7th Hand, performed by the core quartet of Thomas, Johns, and Sumbry with guest contributions from flutist Elena Pinderhughes and the Farafina Kan Percussion Ensemble. After extensive international touring and festival engagements, Wilkins issued his third Blue Note album, Blues Blood, in October 2024. Co-produced with Meshell Ndegeocello, the thirteen-track collection features pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Rick Rosato, and drummer Kweku Sumbry, along with vocalists Cecile McLorin Salvant, Ganavya, June McDoom, and Yaw Agyeman, guitarist Marvin Sewell, and additional drummer Chris Dave.