Born 7 August 1997 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania (Delaware County), Immanuel Wilkins is an alto saxophonist and composer whose music is filled with empathy and conviction, bonding arcs of melody and lamentation to pluming gestures of space and breath, described by Pitchfork as someone who "composes ocean-deep jazz epics".
Wilkins moved to New York City in 2015 to attend the Juilliard School, studying under Bruce Williams, Steve Wilson, and Joe Temperley, where he met trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire who mentored him and helped him navigate the jazz scene, and pianist Jason Moran who took the young saxophonist on tour. In what was one of his biggest early gigs, Wilkins played alto in Moran's In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall, 1959, a series of live performances honouring Thelonious Monk's legacy. He has since worked with diverse artists including Solange Knowles, Gretchen Parlato, Wynton Marsalis, Gerald Clayton, Aaron Parks, and Joel Ross, making a striking appearance on the vibraphonist's 2019 Blue Note debut KingMaker. His acclaimed debut album Omega, produced by Jason Moran and released on Blue Note in 2020, was a meditation on the Black experience in America that The New York Times named the number one Jazz Album of 2020, introducing his remarkable quartet with Micah Thomas on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums.
His stunning sophomore album The 7th Hand appeared in 2022, exploring relationships between presence and nothingness across an hour-long suite comprised of seven movements including the 26-minute "Lift". The album won the 2021 LetterOne RISING STARS Jazz Award. His expansive third studio album Blues Blood appeared in 2024, a meditative offering co-produced by Meshell Ndegeocello featuring his quartet with Thomas, Rick Rosato on bass, and Sumbry on drums, plus vocalists Ganavya, June McDoom, and Cécile McLorin Salvant. The album received a 2026 Grammy nomination in the Best Alternative Jazz Album category. Wilkins is a member of Out Of/Into, the all-star collective formerly known as the Blue Note Quintet featuring Gerald Clayton, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, and Matt Brewer, and teaches at NYU and The New School whilst also giving masterclasses at Oberlin, Yale, and the Kimmel Center, where he served as Artist in Residence in 2020.
