The opening night of Immanuel Wilkins’s residency will be the world premiere of an SFJAZZ-commissioned new work entitled Recitations, featuring pianist, singer, composer, and 2024 NEA Jazz Master Amina Claudine Myers along with Brazilian-born guitar star Pedro Martins.

Inspired by Kirtan chants, hymns, and folk songs, Recitations uses melody as meditation or chant, exploring music creation as a communal experience that incorporates readings of historical documents from the Black Panther Party archives by both the audience and performers together. This innovative and thought-provoking approach erases the perceived wall between artist and listener, embracing the spirit of shared creation.

A remarkably versatile and accomplished artist, Amina Claudine Myers has led a storied career that crosses lines of modern jazz, gospel, and the avant-garde as part of Chicago’s AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), and as a collaborator with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Henry Threadgill, and Muhal Richard Abrams. She’s recorded a dozen superlative albums and was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2024.

L.A.-based guitarist Pedro Martins is among the most exciting artists on the explosive SoCal scene, a versatile bandleader and collaborator with Thundercat, Eric Clapton, Brad Mehldau. Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Jacob Collier.