The Blue Note label's talent-scouting skills continue to resurface under current label-boss Don Was. Alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins first came to notice playing with the much-praised young vibraphonist Joel Ross, whose first own-name recording, KingMaker, was released on Blue Note last year. Wilkins now makes an equally accomplished band-leader debut with this Jason Moran-produced Blue Note sax-and-rhythm quartet release.

Wilkins, aged 22, draws his musicians from the crowded pool of New York's up-and-coming. All four of the album's players have been busily accruing side-man credits, but only the pianist, Micah Thomas, has released an album under his own name.

Wilkins' focussed tone and use of pentatonics reference the work of Kenny Garrett, and this is most apparent on the slow-burns of ‘Grace and Mercy’ and ‘Warriors’, the album's opening track. But there is an icy quality to the Wilkins sound which comes from within; smears and slurs add a vocal touch, and on tracks like ‘The Dreamer’, he quietly cossets his notes with warmth.

The album's style is contemporary mainstream acoustic jazz featuring precise structures, a wide dynamic range and a rhythm section fluently combining hip-hop rage and modal swing. Bassist Daryl Johns and drummer Kweku Sumbry sound great and are as tight as a nut, and pianist Thomas's sensitive voicings make each Wilkins note count. The pianist's spidery lines, full-bodied vamps and articulate touch confirm him as a standout soloist.