With this album I aim to continue the global conversation and provide a platform for those whose voices are often left out.
Alonzo Demetrius
Alonzo’s musical journey began at the age of 8, singing and learning the piano until finally settling on the trumpet by age 10. He developed an extremely personal relationship with music, spending hours practicing and crafting a unique musical personality.
Alonzo is classically trained in trumpet pedagogy and has participated in wind ensembles, symphonic orchestras, pit orchestras, marching band, big bands, and small jazz ensembles. At age 11 he formed his own jazz sextet and has been performing professionally ever since. Alonzo spent two years at the historic Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz where he connected with other talented young professionals and, more importantly, gained life-long friends and mentors.
In the fall of 2014, he attended Berklee College of Music on a full-tuition scholarship where he obtained a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Professional Music with concentrations in Jazz Composition and Performance. His time at Berklee expanded my musical vocabulary beyond classical and jazz to gospel, R&B, hip-hop, country, fusion, world music, and more. Following his graduation from the undergraduate program in the Spring of 2018, he accepted an invitation to the highly selective Berklee Global Jazz Institute Master’s Program, graduating with a Master’s of Music in June 2019.
As an artist, Alonzo prides himself on versatility, technical precision, and adaptability. He is the founder and bandleader of the genre-fluid band The Ego, who performs throughout the New England and New York metropolitan areas since the fall of 2017. He has also had the privilege of working with an ever-growing list of notable musicians spanning several genres including Terence Blanchard, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ralph Peterson Jr., Dezron Douglas, Tia Fuller, Robert Glasper, Jason Palmer and many more.
Omega just may be one of the most relevant recordings of this epic year of 2020, if not for its acceptance of social responsibility, then for its sheer virtuosity, and colorful melodicism.
All About Jazz
Immanuel Wilkins
Immanuel Wilkins is a saxophonist, composer, educator, and bandleader from the greater Philadelphiaarea. While growing up, Wilkins honed his skills in the church and studied in programs dedicated to teaching jazz music like the Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts. After moving to New York in 2015, he proceeded to earn his bachelor’s degree in Music at Juilliard (studying with the saxophonists Bruce Williams and the late, great Joe Temperley) while simultaneously establishing himself as an indemand sideperson, touring in Japan, Europe, South America, The United Arab Emirates, and the United States and working and/or recording with artists like Jason Moran, the Count Basie Orchestra, The Sun Ra Arkestra, Joel Ross, Aaron Parks, Gerald Clayton, Solange Knowles, and Wynton Marsalis, to name just a few. It was also during this same period that he formed his quartet featuring his long-time bandmates: Micah Thomas (piano), Daryl Johns (bass), and Kweku Sumbry (drums).
Being a bandleader with a working group for over four years has allowed Wilkins to grow both as a composer and as an arranger — and has led to him receiving a number of commissions including, most recently, from The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, The Jazz Gallery Artist Residency Commission Program (a collaboration with Sidra Bell Dance NY, 2020 ) and The Kimmel Center Artist in Residence for 2020 (a collaboration with photographer Rog Walker and videographer David Dempewolf). Being emerged in the scene at a young age and sharing the stage with various jazz masters has inspired Wilkins to pursue his goal of being a positive force in both music and in society. This includes quite an impressive resumé as an educator. In addition to teaching at NYU and the New School, he has taught and given master classes and clinics at schools/venues like Oberlin, Yale and the Kimmel Center. Ultimately, Wilkins’ mission is to create music and to develop a voice that has a profound spiritual and emotional impact.
By studying the humanity and the cultural specificity of jazz, Wilkins aspires to bring people together through his art. His debut recording, Omega —produced by Jason Moran— was released by Blue Note Records in 2020 and has received uniformly rave reviews. In addition to being voted “Best New Jazz Artist” in the JazzTimes Critics’ Poll and “Best New Talent of 2020” by Musica Jazz, Wilkins’ Omega has appeared on numerous “Best of 2020” lists — most notably,” it was named NPR Music’s “Best Debut Jazz Recording of 2020” and the New York Times number one Jazz Recording of 2020. Wilkins began 2021 on a very positive note. He was nominated for a NAACP Image Award (Best Jazz Instrumental album) and won the prestigious LetterOne Rising Stars Jazz Award.
“Music is truly my sanctuary, a reason to live, and a bright moment”
J. Michael Harrison
J. Michael Harrison’s first radio show, WPEB’s, “Is That Jazz” launched in June of 1993. In 1994 he began volunteering with WRTI as a production assistant. In 1996 J. Michael debuted his own program, The Bridge, which continues to air on Friday nights to this day.
The Bridge was selected as Philadelphia Magazine’s “Best Radio Program” in 2002, and in 2007, the Philadelphia City Paper called it the “Best On-Air Reminder That Jazz Didn’t Die in 1965.” The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and the Performing Arts made him a Stakeholder in 2016. He was presented the Above & Beyond award for Outstanding Contributions to Arts & Culture by the People’s Emergency Center in 2017, that same year the Jazz Journalist Association named him a “Jazz Hero.”
Since 2008 he has taught a master music journalism class at the University of the Arts and recently premiered a new class, Philadelphia’s Musical Sound as an undergraduate offering. He’s presented lectures to students in the Philadelphia school system, Temple University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He has written liner notes, has sat on and moderated panels, has curated series, produced events, and hosted concerts in Philadelphia, NJ, New York City, and New Orleans. He was executive producer on Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s 1999 CD BrotherZone. He’s worked closely with the Philadelphia Jazz Project, Jazz Philadelphia, Jazz Bridge, Jazz Near You, The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, and other organizations.
Recently he has contributed to NPR’s Station Breaks series, Slingshot Artist to Watch and Jazz Night in America series and serves as executive producer for WRTI’s jazz video content on NPR’s Live Sessions, Facebook and YouTube. Since 2018, he’s been dedicated to nurturing and cultivating a growing WRTI community engagement initiative in partnership with the Rainey Family of the POV documentary film Quest (dir. Jonathan Olshefski), and the Intellectual Heritage Program at Temple University.