How He Got a Golden Saxophone Tone - Immanuel Wilkins

#bettersax #saxophone #immanuelwilkins
Jay Metcalf interviews saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins at the Nice Jazz Festival and asked him what he worked on to develop such a beautiful sound.
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[@davesaxoligist]

Jay thank you for all you do for the sax playing community. Your interviews and lessons have helped myself and others tremendously. I hope to see you again at Namm next year. 💯🎶

[@bettersax]

My pleasure!

[@williesordillo8621]

Grateful for this interview for a lot of reasons- Immanuel is a deep player, extremely soulful in addition to his technical virtuosity and in possession of wisdom beyond his years- he can play just the head of a beautiful ballad and let it stand on it's own, not feeling the need to complicate it un-necessarily. He's my favorite of the younger generation of alto players. I'm also glad to see that he comes across in the interview with a humility that invokes the respect he has for the music, and which comes through in his playing. And finally, as a longtime Mark VII player, it is extremely gratifying to find that someone of his stature and with such a beautiful sound, as you pointed out, plays one as well- I'm not sure I've come across any other player at his level who has endorsed the Mark VII, so I feel vindicated!

[@milesforwin]

I've been blown away since I found Immanuel and here you are, interviewing him. Like minds! Thanks for the great content and sincere conversation with him.

[@jtscrollworks]

I was very fortunate enough to hear Emmanuel play in high school for four years. What a fantastic young man and so glad he’s doing fantastic.

[@esiesesi3570]

Great to have Immanuel Wilkins in the spotlight here. Heard him for the first time quite a long time ago at North Sea Jazz. Than already he blew me away...

[@StephenB_LE9]

Thanks for these interviews. The advice of listening and long tones is noted - 3 hrs on long tones - dedication! I better up my game!

[@ThomAvella]

the most striking thing about his approach to me is how calm and controlled everything is, even at extreme tempos or dynamic levels. the purity of his tone is enviable at all times!

[@beckyn9338]

This is great timing! Just this week I stumbled onto this guy in a playlist put together by Spotify. His sound definitely caught my attention. I listened to that cut several times, then got the album. (Omega) I have been listening to it practically non stop trying to figure out what it is about him…..Anyway, this is great. Love that he does long tones for 2 hours! Wow! Anyway, so much more to come from this jazz player. Looking forward to his career unfolding. Thanks, Jay, for being on the cutting edge with these players!

[@danxchap]

I was in the jazz house kids summer class with him! I was in the background but his glasses were still as poppin as they are today 💪🏾

[@JS-dt1tn]

Joel Ross is indeed the homie. Those New School sessions were so great.

[@darryldade3416]

Awesome talent... ever since he was a little kid, I knew he was going to be a trailblazer.😊

[@danielwgolden8500]

Philly guy makes good. Way to go Immanuel. Great sound.

[@JerseyJulieBlues]

I'm a Mark VII gal too. Jersey Julie here. Great to know about you all here!!

[@bill3837]

Yeah I heard a couple notes and I said damn what a sound and the musicality and knowledge to go with it. I just became a fan 😃😃

[@aljerones99]

I seldom play long tones but when I do, I have a very, very strict focus on nailing not just as close to perfect pitch as possible but bending the note (by a semi-tone) in order to exercise my embouchure. Since the sax is notorious for being out of tune, my focus is never in playing with perfect pitch but emoting throughout the song the way a singer does with their voice. Truth be told, though, I tend to get more mileage out of transcribing than practising long tones because I usually choose to transcribe something I think is beautifully played and so I invest in a fair amount of ear training to decipher the notes, mimic the articulation, learn the rhythm and nuisances, including trying to capture the timbre of the notes, phrasing and spirit of the song. Perhaps I will eventually grow to appreciate long tones more than I currently do. But I do have a healthy respect for practicing them and my preference would be with a drone.

[@courtneynero6886]

"Osmosis"! I heard that word at about 1:43 or so. I'm writing the first comprehensive biography of saxophone great Junior Cook (publication in late 2023/early 2024 I hope), who played with Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, and Bill Hardman. Cook presided over NYC jam sessions in the 1980s. Many musicians who I've interviewed about their time with Cook mentioned "osmosis" and the absorption of 'best practices' (for lack of a better phrase) through presence among the greats (primarily live but also through transcriptions) and NOT through picking up a lick or two out of a book. Reminds me of a Better Sax video from a while ago, Jay, where you say that a Charlie Parker lick you heard and learned and memorized off of a recording stuck with you better than anything that you read out of the Omnibook.....

[@bettersax]

Cool, look forward to reading your book.

[@samlanghout1561]

That's some good content right there🎷

[@mikegraziano1562]

A few questions 1. What serial # MK VII, mine is fantastic, others I've played were really bad, stuffy & with poor intonation. 2. more on the Mouthpiece, opening? & where to get them... 3. What exact reeds does he use (#)? This is not for me to go out & buy them but rather for my own research & referrals to students & friends. Thanks....should have been a longer interview! Maybe next time...

[@marcobadilla8773]

Un sonido grande ,gordo, lleno de armonicos y una afinación perfecta . Me hizo recordar un poco a Steve Coleman, pero con una capacidad mayor en el manejo de los matices. Grito y susurro con mucha espiritualidad. Lindo como quiere su VII. Un gran músico ya. Gracias Jay

[@Mt-rice]

His sound is husky and very nice. By the way, what number is the opening of his mouthpiece?

[@augustfrisby2447]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@C.JFletcher]

What is this drone he practice to.

[@JustLachieRblx]

Hey guys. I have been going around commenting on reputable saxophone chanels and asking this same question. I was wondering if a Selmer Mark IV with a high serial number is still worth buying because of its sound or whether the higher price point is more because it is a collectors item. Just wanted to know incase I could get a better sounding yamaha for example at the same price point or if selmer is still good no mater the serial number

[@davidolahmusic]

🔥❤🎷

[@Selmerpilot]

Immanuel is a great dude. Good player but it always blows me away what players really make it and who doesn’t. So many fabulous players in NY and outside people have never heard of. Baptiste Herbin sort of comes to mind too as he is far and away the most capable and proficient alto player alive, possibly ever, but down beat makes no mention of him and he just isn’t working nor getting calls for work in the US. Baptiste easily schools any alto cat on the scene today, laughable to suggest otherwise. As far as sound is concerned, no one can be mentioned in the same breath as Phil Woods. He practiced the Sigurd Rascher tone stuff (top tones book) in his youth, then, per his wife Jill, only pulled his horn out for gigs. Never practiced. Did a lot of writing but hardly had the horn out. Truly and bizarrely gifted

[@cmacdhon]

Oh man! 3 hours of long tones? After 10 minutes I'm thinking about plugging in a guitar instead.

[@BBHarpy]

why saxplayers always play note by note by noze wufffff breath and ad some silence for tention so like Ben Webster did

[@Nestor_Fernandez]

Hi Jay, I was lucky to see and hear Immanuel in Munich a few weeks ago. His sound was amazing and his fingers were barely moving even in the fastest passages of his music. Just like in the few existing videos from Bird. He takes the listener in a trip on which he combines tunes with a lot of tension and later he creates a state of trance with an atmosphere that resembles deep meditation. Awesome concert of a great new alto saxophonist!!

[@saxefoner]

Alto sax is more of a challenge than tenor: for tuning, and for sound. It is the Alto that can be made to sound good, bad, or distinctive. The Tenor is easier to play in tune and sound acceptable . Alto is like a violin; it is easy to sound bad, but in the right hands it is capable of sounding awesome.

[@Simon.the.Likeable]

Something in the water in Philadelphia? John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Carl Grubbs, Michael Brecker, Odean Pope, Immanuel Wilkins... I'm sure I've missed some others as well...

[@timwhalen3840]

His advice about immersion is the best you can get. It has to consume you to play at the level he does. Another alto player with an incredible sound is Miguel Zenon. These guys are in the tradition. It’s funny how alto players love a Mark 7, yes 7, not VII because 7 is what’s on the neck, and tenor players don’t care for them.

[@Selmerpilot]

Lol. Miguel has never had a great tone. I sat next to him in a sax quartet at Berklee for a semester when he finally transitioned from playing a Bundy to a mark vi. Never changed sound much, but it works for him so more power to him

[@timwhalen3840]

Personally, I think he has the classic Meyer alto sound and it fits his concept. I know it’s all subjective and personal taste. There’s players I think have crappy tones who other people love.

[@JS-dt1tn]

@@Selmerpilot Miguel has one of the freshest alto sounds to ever come out the horn.

[@Selmerpilot]

@@JS-dt1tn It is certainly unique! Miguel himself never liked his tone as he was always commenting how he preferred other players sounds and asked how he can alter his tone. Miguel is such a humble nice guy, love him dearly and the work he does. Myself, Jaleel Shaw, and Patrick Cornelius, all at the time played Meyers, just as Miguel did, but all of us yielded a very different sounds out of them. Gear only goes so far. Miguel worked a lot with Shannon Leclaire while at Berklee to iron that out but in the end a person is always going to sound how they're going to sound.

[@JosephSalinas-r4r]

​@Selmerpilot and who is you? 😅😂

[@jakedahms8856]

Saw him live in Seattle, incredible musician and him and his band are so sweet and nice

[@gianlucawork]

One hour of long tones? My family could kill me 😀

[@kevinmonceaux2101]

KZbin suggested this video. I watched it, and went straight to iTunes and started listening to Immanuel's first album. I was hooked with the first track. Thank you KZbin, Jay, and Immanuel!! I would love to see some examples of Immanuel's tone development playlists. They might help me find more artists I should be listening to that I haven't found yet.

[@ketong71]

Reinforcing things we don't want to hear but know that we have to do them... LONG TONES!!! 😁

[@brocksamson8634]

Awesome! I've been aware of Immanuel for a while now and it's great to hear what he has to say. Immanuel, thank you for doing this interview and for blessing the world with your music.

[@pbnj4lyfe298]

Curious what his long tone routine encompasses. Great interview, but nore time would've been nice.

[@ajreyes7711]

immanuel is a wonderful player and an even more wonderful person. i got to say hi to him after a show in LA and he was so welcoming and friendly. one of my favorite players out there today

[@j.hurlock]

man Immanuel's got the best tone in the game thanks for this 💜💜

[@migsax]

I think he’s the most important young saxophonist at present

[@jeffreyharrison4045]

Fantastic video. Thanks Jay and Immanuel!

[@chuckwhite368]

I like long tones and tone matching harmonics .

[@moeketsimolefe9064]

Hi there , can anyone help with the name of the tune @ 2:48

[@migsax]

Jay, hearing from a friend that Immanuel plays double lip embouchure. If that was the case, I would think it would’ve come up in your interview with him. Can you clarify either way? Thanks.

[@WillStonier]

Visiting Nice in August and I'm really excited. Are there a lot of places to check out some jazz?

[@dooday1]

Argh I was near Nice but had no idea of this festival ! Are you still in Philly, where can I listen to you / nice venues in Philly?

[@JosephTeachey-ch2dc]

What is a drone?

[@bettersax]

A note played and held out in this case by an app we practice with.

[@robbiegallagher7821]

I sincerely believe that 2-3 hours of long tones is a lost opportunity to develop other aspects of saxophone playing

[@javiersanchez7201]

I saw him at Ronnie Scott's at a sold out gig. Had to listen to "Emanation" live. That theme has played in my head so many times.

[@jnuno9877]

Could someone point me to the ligature and neck strap he said he uses?

[@Chris-zc8jg]

Does someone have a good alto playlist for that purpose, willing to share? :)

[@Victoria-qk3mu]

Awesome interview ❤❤❤❤

[@stangetz534]

jay only12min????

[@antonioluisorta9277]

Can you share the link where you got the video footage from Immanuel’s performance at the Nice fest? I’d love to watch the whole thing. Thanks so much for what you do for the saxophone world.

[@bettersax]

I took that footage myself.

[@Victoria-qk3mu]

Shout out to Boston Sax reeds They are all that ❤❤❤❤

[@rienbutter]

And the Remy saxophone.

[@dagadbm]

what are drones?

[@bobert3230]

Like a continuous tone of a pitch such as C. you play C and try to match the pitch by ear

[@normalizedaudio2481]

He is a fit guy. I find that fit guy has a better sound. The guy who smokes pot all day, not so much. Oh well. I play the melody and fix it in the mix.

[@josegorbe]

All guys smoke on 50's hehehe

[@REX-007]

He smokes a Mark VII 😮

[@itisnottaken4444]

My dude every great sax player from the 40s-60s were doing some type of drugs. Bird did heroin and Paul Desmond smoked like a chimney and drank profusely until he died.