Immanuel Wilkins, Blues Blood Review

By Icrom Bigrad

Immanuel Wilkins is back with his next Blue Note records release, Blues Blood.  Wilkins burst onto the jazz scene with his debut, Omega, in 2020, marking himself as an artist who was both fluent in tradition and inventive in his approach. His longstanding quartet—Micah Thomas on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums—had already developed an impressive cohesiveness over four years, a chemistry reflected in the maturity of their sound. Omega was swiftly recognized as one of the best jazz releases of the year, solidifying Wilkins as an exciting new voice in jazz. His sophomore effort, The 7th Hand, continued his exploration of Black identity and spirituality, further cementing his status as a prominent composer and instrumentalist.

With Blues Blood, Wilkins’ third Blue Note recording, Wilkins takes his journey even further, diving deeply into themes of heritage, collective consciousness, and the narratives that bind us. Co-produced by Meshell Ndegeocello, the album expands Wilkins’ sonic palette by introducing vocalists such as Cécile McLorin Salvant, Ganavya, June McDoom, and Yaw Agyeman and exploring multimedia elements, including live cooking onstage, stage visuals, and the incorporation of other sensory experiences that enhance the album’s narrative. This time, Wilkins’ musical exploration carries a sense of homecoming—a tribute to familial memories and communal bonds, realized through an evocative sonic landscape that blends traditional jazz motifs with modern textures, creating an intricate and deeply personal narrative.

The atmosphere of Blues Blood is shaped by Wilkins’ desire to recreate sensory memories. One can almost smell a meal being cooked in the background while listening—a concept tied to the live performances of this album, where food is prepared onstage alongside the musicians. This vivid imagery blurs the line between the auditory and the olfactory, inviting listeners to become immersed not just in sound, but in the ritualistic experience of creating something that nurtures. The opening track, “MATTE GLAZE,” features June McDoom on vocals, setting the scene with wistful piano chords and soft, introspective vocals, evoking the feeling of sitting in a quiet living room, watching steam billow from the kitchen.

Throughout Blues Blood, the musical textures are deliberate, unfolding at a simmering pace, much like the Crock-Pot metaphor Wilkins himself invoked. Tracks like “AFTERLIFE RESIDENCE TIME” carry a meditative weight with McDoom’s airy vocals, inspired by Christina Sharpe’s concept of generational memory, particularly within the Atlantic as a repository of ancestral experience. The sonic landscape here is building—each instrument contributing to an atmosphere where the intensity builds, connecting the listener to Wilkins’ vision of familial and cultural history by hearing the music and lyrics.

Wilkins has always been interested in the conversational element of jazz, and in Blues Blood, this interest reaches a new level of realization. The interplay between Wilkins and his longtime quartet—now including the vocalists—feels organic and dynamic. The presence of multiple vocalists, including Cécile McLorin Salvant, Ganavya, June McDoom, and Yaw Agyeman, contributes to the sense of community Wilkins sought to achieve. Each voice taps into a different aspect of heritage, adding layers of meaning and resonance.

Tracks like “DARK EYES SMILE,” featuring Salvant, are rich with this dynamic interplay, where lyrical content becomes another instrument, responding to Wilkins’ saxophone and the rest of the ensemble. Rosato’s bass solo is lyrical and connects with the energy and tone of Salvant’s soulful vocal style. Wilkins’ saxophone solo is a fine demonstration of his style, which is soulful, lyrical, and expressive. Wilkins describes this album as feeling like “people getting together, making music and feeding the pot,” and it’s this sense of shared space and collective energy that drives the improvisations and musical conversations throughout the album.

Cultural Resonance is a central theme within Blues Blood, as Wilkins delves into the depths of his memories of cultural history to inform his music. In addition, he finds inspiration from a quote by Daniel Hamm, a member of the Harlem Six who were falsely accused of murder in 1964, which states, “I had to, like, open the bruise up and let some of the blues [bruise] blood come out to show them.” Wilkins frames the album around themes of generational trauma, resilience, and the dichotomy of pleasure in pain—something central to the blues tradition. This is especially evident in the title track, “BLUES BLOOD,” where the music captures a raw intensity, echoing Hamm’s struggle. The combination of Wilkins’ expressive saxophone lines set to a medium up swing feel and deeply resonant wordless vocal elements by Agyeman and Ganavya evokes the pain and strength embodied in Hamm’s words, creating an empowering atmosphere. Later as the song transition into a Gospel ballad feel, Agyeman and Ganavya convey the lyrics and voclizations with meaningful expression.

The addition of vocalists is a first for Wilkins, and their presence adds depth to the album’s narrative. The voices on the record convey a spectrum of emotions—solace, longing, remembrance—serving as a direct line to the past, almost like a congregation of voices bearing witness. Whether it’s the raga-inspired stylings of Ganavya or Salvant’s mournful reflections, each vocalist embodies a piece of the cultural memory Wilkins seeks to explore. These songs become vessels of history, and through them, Wilkins taps into the alchemical properties of music that can both soothe and heal.

Blues Blood is an album that invites listeners into an intimate space—one where the smells of a slow-cooked family stew mix with melodies that simmer and blend, evoking generations of resilience, love, and connection. The warmth of a pot bubbling on the stove parallels the slow, deliberate building of each musical phrase, each ingredient adding its unique flavor to create a nourishing whole. Wilkins has crafted a listening experience that transcends the boundaries of the sonic realm, one that is as much about the emotions it evokes as the technical mastery behind it.

Blues Blood speaks to the importance of preserving cultural memory, and the beauty of sharing those memories to form a collective creation within all cultures. In doing so, it leaves us with a powerful sense of continuity as a whole, reminding us that our stories, our music, and our memories are all interconnected, flowing together like the water that carries the echoes of our ancestors, flowing through each and every one of us, regardless of our origins.