Immanuel Wilkins - The 7th Hand (2022 Blue Note Gold 2LP Special Edition)

Immanuel Wilkins - The 7th Hand Double Vinyl LP - 2022 Blue Note Special Edition Gold

• Modern spiritual jazz masterpiece - Wilkins' acclaimed sophomore album following breakthrough debut
• Special edition gold vinyl - limited 2LP pressing with Sterling Sound lacquer cutting
• Contemporary Blue Note at its finest - quartet exploring Coltrane's lineage for today

Alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins' second Blue Note album expands the spiritual jazz vision established on his acclaimed 2020 debut Omega, the quartet of Wilkins, pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Daryl Johns, and drummer Kweku Sumbry exploring eight compositions across two LPs. The album's title references both the biblical seventh day of rest and the concept of divine intervention, Wilkins' music seeking transcendence through collective improvisation and spiritual searching. Released on 28 January 2022 by Blue Note as a special edition gold vinyl 2LP with lacquers cut at Sterling Sound, this pressing captures Wilkins continuing to establish himself as one of contemporary jazz's most compelling voices, his alto saxophone work drawing from John Coltrane's spiritual explorations while creating distinctly modern statements.

Wilkins' compositional approach balances written material with extended improvisational sections, the quartet developing themes through patient collective exploration rather than rapid solo exchanges. His alto saxophone playing demonstrates both technical command and emotional directness, his tone singing and urgent, his phrases building intensity through repetition and gradual development echoing Coltrane's modal explorations. Thomas' piano work provides both harmonic foundation and independent melodic voice, his comping creating spaces for the saxophone while his solos contribute to the music's spiritual dimension. Johns' bass and Sumbry's drums function as more than rhythm section, their interaction creating polyrhythmic complexity and dynamic range essential to the music's architecture.

The eight compositions explore different facets of Wilkins' vision, from the opening "Emanation" through "Don't Break", "Fugitive Ritual, Selah", and the closing "Lift" plus a D2C exclusive track, each piece balancing structure with freedom. The album's extended format across two LPs allows development impossible within single LP constraints, the quartet's explorations given space to breathe and evolve organically. Lacquer cut at Sterling Sound and pressed on special edition gold vinyl, this Blue Note release demonstrates the label's continued commitment to contemporary creative jazz, Wilkins representing the younger generation carrying forward spiritual jazz traditions while speaking to present-day concerns and aesthetics.