Alto Saxophone, Composer | b.1997

Born 7 August 1997 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, 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. Starting violin at age three and piano at four, Wilkins gained first musical experiences in his community church before discovering saxophone in third grade, attending jazz courses at the Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. In 2009 as a teenager he performed the national anthem before a Philadelphia Eagles game, choosing alto because he liked the sound, influenced by Kenny Garrett, Charlie Parker, and Benny Carter.

Wilkins moved to NYC in 2015 to attend Juilliard School, studying under Bruce Williams, Steve Wilson, and Joe Temperley, meeting mentors Ambrose Akinmusire and Jason Moran. He played alto in Moran's In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall, 1959, honouring Thelonious Monk. He has worked with Solange Knowles, Wynton Marsalis, Gerald Clayton, and Joel Ross, appearing on Ross's 2019 Blue Note debut KingMaker. His acclaimed debut Omega, produced by Moran and released 7 August 2020 on Blue Note, was The New York Times' number one Jazz Album of 2020, introducing his quartet with Micah Thomas, Daryl Johns, and Kweku Sumbry. Sophomore album The 7th Hand (January 2022) explored presence and nothingness across seven movements including 26-minute "Lift", winning 2021 LetterOne RISING STARS Jazz Award. Third album Blues Blood (October 2024) co-produced by Meshell Ndegeocello featured vocalists Ganavya, June McDoom, and Cécile McLorin Salvant, receiving 2026 Grammy nomination. He is member of Out Of/Into with Gerald Clayton and Joel Ross, and teaches at NYU and The New School.