"Imani Winds has made this unlikely amalgam work through a combination of great performance chops, charismatic stage presence, fascinating projects, and a selection of repertoire that both calls attention to each of their personal strengths and pushes them to other places."

"Terra Incognita suggest that jazz and concert music can still blend into a hybridized form of music containing considerable eloquence."

"Throughout the CD, the Imani are an impressively virtuosic quintet, faultless in ensemble, winning in tone quality and fully capable of every challenge the three composers have thrown at them. The recording is remarkable for its clarity and warmth." Read More...

"...the success of the project can be seen in the extent to which the music regularly defies expectations, and in that regard, Terra Incognita is a place I think you'll enjoy getting to know."

"Each composer's influence is clear and, while you can listen to this in the car or on the 'pod, for the initial hearing, give yourself a block of time to savor it. You will continue to hear more and more in it, and you owe it to yourself to taste the flavors of this music in a fine and quiet place."

"In their 14-year existence, the Imani Winds have turned the woodwind quintet genre on its head. They've expanded the horizons and repertoire well beyond the strictly classical. But they're not really a crossover group. They're all classically trained musicians who also happen to be well versed in other styles of playing. They quite simply can do it all and they do it well and with an enthusiasm that is infectious." Read More...

"... the nation's leading wind ensemble ..."

"It's a bit startling to hear, at the beginning of an Imani concert, that aggressive, powerful, and crisp sound. Imani plays with a kind of dead-on precise coordination that takes a while to get used to. (This is not a complaint!)"

"Imani Winds is known for colorful and innovative programming, and Spellman-Diaz said members spend many days talking over programming choices. The progression of a delicious meal is a metaphor for a typical Imani concert, and Spellman-Diaz gave some tempting hints about what's on the menu in Park City this week. The appetizer is a scherzo-like piece by in-house composer Coleman, 'Red Clay Mississippi Delta.'" Read More...

"The group's overall sound is smooth and suave, conceptually rich, with spiky attacks, spicy flavors, and a perpetually sinuous rhythmic momentum. Formed in 1997 by graduates of Juilliard and Mannes, Imani has honed a fresh, iconoclastic edge for their quintet. Working, touring, and teaching full-time, their attitude of loose, cheery professionalism is more in tune with jazz groups or rock bands than ‘chamber ensembles.'" Read More...

"Since debuting on disc in 2002 with Umoja and introducing compositions by Cuban multi-instrumentalist Paquita D'Rivera and Argentine tango and bandoneón to the classical world, the New York-based chamber wind ensemble Imani Winds has been predictable only for being unpredictable, and that's not going to change come August 24 when the group releases its sixth album, Terra Incognito."

"The group, Imani Winds, makes its second visit to Jordan Hall tonight as part of the Celebrity Series of Boston. After 13 years, it has evolved from being a side project into a thriving, full-time ensemble, one whose work ranges from the greatest hits of the wind repertoire to arrangements of songs by jazz singer Josephine Baker to music by Coleman and French horn player Jeff Scott. Its five members - all African-American or Latino - have taken one of the squarest ensembles in chamber music and made it into something vibrant, accessible, and fun." Read More...

"Imani Winds' perfect blend of their individual personalities, accomplishments, and sheer talent make them a very solid and charming group. It was wonderful to see a traditional chamber ensemble express such encouragement and exuberance for new music. I look forward to hearing the results of their commissioning projects in the future, which no doubt will be masterfully played." Read More...

"When it comes to chamber music, woodwind ensembles are relatively rare. New York's Imani Winds are taking things even further than you might expect." Read More...

"The Legacy Commissioning Project is more than just a vehicle for the group to celebrate its first decade, Ellis said. 'It's a way to increase the woodwind literature and repertoire.' And they've approached composers from a wide range of musical backgrounds, not just classical. 'We're looking for different genres and backgrounds, everything from jazz to classical. We definitely want to keep things diverse in respect to musical areas and composers.'" Read More...

"Imani Winds gave a spectacular performance, and the audience responded with enthusiasm." Read More...

"Occasionally one attends a performance where the the musicianship is of such high caliber, the selections are so varied and engrossing, and the personality of the performers is so engaging that the feeling of it lingers long afterward, like the faint ghost of a warmly remembered dream. The concert by the acclaimed Imani Winds on Saturday night, February 20th in the Kaul Auditorium at Portland's Reed College, was just such an event." Read More...

"Together for 13 years, Imani has found a formula that engages audiences while advancing the literature for wind quintet. And their playing was superb. Each performer brought distinct personality to his or her instrument." Read More...

"Imani Winds are doing their bit for the wind quintet, an ensemble of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn. Its Legacy Commissioning Project is an ambitious five-year venture to commission 10 works by composers in classical music, jazz, Middle Eastern, Latin and broader styles." Read More...

"'The thing with a wind quintet is it's almost a blank palette,' Scott said. 'We don't have anything by Brahms or Beethoven to pick from.' ... But the blank palette is something the ensemble has embraced, he said. Scott and Coleman compose much of the group's music. Read More...

"This extended piece, comprising the whole of the second set found the composer doing lightning rounds on vibes and marimba while Imani engaged in a near-furious excursion into arch melody as well as sweet songlines."

"The score crosses the line between jazz and classical, allowing for improvisation on the part of the quintet and Harris. Each performance is a new experience, Adam said. 'You never really have a complete interpretation,' she said."

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"Intensity, velocity. When Imani Winds blow into town, you can expect both." Read More...

"Having braced myself for a rattling junk drawer of mismatched timbres, I felt my body relax the moment the Imanis launched into their first piece on the program, Scherzo for Woodwind Quintet by Eugene Bozza. The piece relays a Flight of the Bumblebee-style melody from each member of the ensemble to the next in turn, but the sounds of the instruments were so well matched that the handoffs were nearly indistinguishable." Read More...

"Virtuosity wasn't the point, though anyone who has struggled with a balky double-reed or a treacherous high horn passage had to marvel at this group's technique." Read More...

"They [Imani Winds] created a dazzling landscape of color, and it came from the inside out." Read More...

"Imani Winds, a wind quintet whose stylish grace and charm match the high quality of sound produced from their instruments, hold a substantial pedigree among fellow artists, audiences, and critics alike." Read More...

"Founded in 1997 by flutist-composer Valerie Coleman, Imani has swept away old notions about wind quintet repertoire, which is often seen as an afterthought in chamber music. By forging relationships with contemporary composers and arranging material by an international array of artists, the New York ensemble has put the wind quintet in the center of the action. And by focusing on African-American and Latin American composers, the Imani musicians have bonded with a sense of mission, giving the group the staying power to establish an enviable body of original material." Read More...

"The little wind quintet that could." Read More...

"Imani Winds decided some time ago to make their tenth anniversary special, by commissioning ten new works from ten very different composers of color. Titled the Legacy Project, each new work not only gets premiered, but added to Imani's rolling repertory as they perform across the country and beyond." Read More...