| Jazz |
For his third studio album, Immanuel Wilkins presents a committed work, closer to opera than to jazz, co-produced by Meshell Ndegeocello, featuring his quartet with Micah Thomas on piano, Rick Rosato on bass, and Kweku Sumbry on drums; vocalists Ganavya, June McDoom, and Yaw Agyeman; and special guest appearances by vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, guitarist Marvin Sewell, and drummer Chris Dave. The album’s title is inspired by a quote from Daniel Hamm, a member of the Harlem Six, a group of young boys wrongfully accused of murder in 1964 and severely beaten by prison guards while awaiting trial: “I had to, like, open the bruise and let some of the blood [blues] come out to show them.” He said this while trying to request medical care for his injuries. The police refused to treat Hamm’s wounds because, although they had beaten him themselves, there was no visible blood on his skin.
Rooted in historical reality, how can we not draw parallels between the events of 1964 and the far too numerous acts of racism and mistreatment or murders of Black Americans today? It’s hard to imagine that the release of this album a month before the U.S. elections is a coincidence, as it forces personal reflection on the human condition and how we respect it. Each person’s choices are proof of respect or disrespect. In Hamm’s quote, the mistaken replacement of the word “blues” for “bruise” when read aloud or silently subtly lends a new interpretation to the sentence. “Blues as a feeling has served as a symbol of joy in pain for Black people since the days of working in the plantations,” Wilkins says. “There is a dichotomy between Black people singing songs about the harshness of their conditions, and yet the blues is something that provides such a sense of well-being.”
This is not a work to be broadcast on the radio; it’s one to be listened to live or on an album with a high-quality sound system. Essentially, this album is meant to be a living spectacle, intellectually nourishing, offering hope in a world often dark. The compositions don’t necessarily seek aesthetic forms; here, everything is done to provoke, to make you feel, to educate, to free. “Blues Blood” is a poetic form, a theatrical proposal, carried by some of today’s most beautiful voices. Even the very classical Cécile McLorin Salvant goes beyond her usual style here, giving everything—admirable!
Though *Blues Blood* is rooted in the experiences of Wilkins and his collaborators, it is intended to be a soothing balm for anyone seeking peace, and for Black people trying to reconcile history in a country that seeks to erase it. “I don’t even know how to put it into words,” Wilkins says about the album’s power. “What I do know is that there are alchemical properties in music. It’s powerful. It’s our calling to take care of this music properly and ensure that it impacts people.”
An impact on people is certain, but let’s admit, this music will unfortunately speak to a knowledgeable audience—those for whom art takes precedence over form, which requires artistic education. The reality here is that Immanuel Wilkins stands among those Black heroes America needs. His artistic conscience and his approach here are to his great credit, and this album fully deserves a place in our collection of “Essential” albums.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, October 4th 2024
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