Our Alone Together series is a celebration of spontaneous creation, presenting exclusive and unrehearsed duo performances captured live in the intimacy of the SFJAZZ Center. Whether they’re longtime collaborators or meeting on stage for the first time, these world class artists are improvisors of the highest level, creating powerful musical dialogues in the moment.
Our third episode shines a spotlight on two generations of jazz mastery with a performance by drummer Billy Hart and saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, tackling Charlie Parker’s bebop classic “Au Privave,” followed by an insightful conversation about the future of the music.

First recorded for Verve Records in January of 1951, “Au Privave” is a quintessential Parker composition and a timeless standard that has been recorded by dozens of jazz greats including Oscar Peterson, Art Blakey, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Max Roach, and Hank Mobley.

A 2022 NEA Jazz Master, Billy Hart has provided the backbone for the most adventurous modern jazz since the early 1960s, including Herbie Hancock’s explosive Mwandishi band and on Miles Davis's hugely influential 1972 release On the Corner. Beginning his career with jazz legends Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery in his hometown of Washington D.C., Hart has lent his percussive mastery to work with Pharoah Sanders, Eddie Harris, Joe Zawinul, Eddie Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Stan Getz, and McCoy Tyner. He made his debut as a bandleader with 1977’s “Enchance,” currently leads an acclaimed quartet, and is a member of the all-star veteran ensemble The Cookers.

Alto saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Immanuel Wilkins is one of the vital voices of jazz in the 21st century. A native of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Wilkins moved to New York in 2015 for studies at the Juilliard School, and since then, Wilkins has worked with a range of artists including Wynton Marsalis, Joel Ross, Solange, and Gerald Clayton. His Blue Note debut Omega took the #1 spot on The New York Times’ list of Best Jazz Albums of 2020, and his newest album, Blues Blood, was released in 2024.

Personnel:
Billy Hart: tenor saxophone
Immanuel Wilkins: drum