Immanuel Wilkins – Blues Blood (2xLP)

Saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins’ third studio album, Blues Blood, is a meditative offering partially inspired by his childhood, a multimedia performance about the legacies of our ancestors and the bloodlines connecting us. Co-produced by Meshell Ndegeocello, and featuring Micah Thomas on piano, Rick Rosato on bass, Kweku Sumbryon drums, and vocalists Ganavya, June McDoom and Yaw Agyeman—as well as special guest appearances by vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, guitarist Marvin Sewell, and drummer Chris Dave—it’s Wilkins’ most ambitious LP to date. Blues Blood marks the first time Wilkins has included vocalists on an album, with each of the distinctive voices tapping into different aspects of heritage. Blues Blood feels airy and celestial, meant to be a soothing balm for anyone searching for peace, and for Black people trying to reconcile history in a country that tries to erase it. The album explores ‘blues’ as a symbol of radical optimism in the face of adversity and ‘blood’ as a symbol of all things ancestral and generational.