{"product_id":"live_at_the_village_vanguard_vol_1","title":"Live At The Village Vanguard Vol. 1","description":"\u003cp\u003eImmanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live At The Village Vanguard Vol. 1 is the first installment of a three‑volume live set documenting the alto saxophonist’s working quartet at New York’s storied Village Vanguard, recorded in May 2025 and released by Blue Note in March 2026. It’s Wilkins’ first live album and features his long‑running band—Micah Thomas (piano), Ryoma Takenaga (bass), and Kweku Sumbry (drums)—stretching out over four expansive tracks: “WARRIORS,” “COMPOSITION II,” Alice Coltrane’s “CHARANAM,” and “ETERNAL,” with most pieces running well past the ten‑minute mark. Liner‑note writer Tina M. Campt frames the project as an attempt to “summon the Vanguard’s sonic history,” turning the set into a kind of devotional practice in collective improvisation and deep listening rather than a tidy, greatest‑hits document.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMusically, the album balances fiery post‑bop and spiritual jazz currents with rigorous structural ideas. Opener “WARRIORS,” originally from Wilkins’ debut Omega, becomes a high‑energy tour de force: Sumbry’s bustling drums drive the band while Wilkins and Thomas push through harmonically intricate, narrative solos that nod to Coltrane and Ornette without feeling derivative. “COMPOSITION II,” modeled on Bach’s Well‑Tempered Clavier, offers a contrasting, lyrical 4\/4 ballad with brushed drums and a singing bass solo, before the quartet launches into a deeply modal, groove‑oriented take on Alice Coltrane’s “CHARANAM,” where Wilkins’ spiraling lines and the rhythm section’s ritual pulse give the set its spiritual center. Closer “ETERNAL” is the most austere and polarizing track: an 18‑minute meditation built on an eleven‑note figure that gradually dissipates into near‑silence, which some reviewers find hypnotic and others “ponderous” on record but all acknowledge as an example of the quartet’s willingness to risk everything in pursuit of a shared, in‑the‑moment sensation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Record Store","offers":[{"title":"CD \/ Album","offer_id":53323563303226,"sku":"37708","price":18.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/2041\/0682\/files\/Screenshot_2026-04-15_at_3.39.39_PM.jpeg?v=1776282371","url":"https:\/\/recordstore.ca\/products\/live_at_the_village_vanguard_vol_1","provider":"Record Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}