Kamasi Washington | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Kamasi Washington is a Los Angeles-based saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who was branded the future of the new jazz on the arrival of his three-disc The Epic. While the term has been bandied about since the 1950s, what it refers to in his case is Washingtons diversity given his wide experience playing with artists of many disciplines. His sound draws few boundaries between modal and soul-jazz, funk, hip-hop, and electronic music. He didnt pick up a saxophone until he was 13 years old, but by that point, hed already been playing several other instruments. Thats when he found his calling. Within a couple years, he was the lead tenor saxophonist at Hamilton High School Music Academy in his native Los Angeles. After graduation, he attended UCLA to study ethnomusicology. While enrolled at UCLA, he recorded a self-titled album with Young Jazz Giants, a quartet he had formed with Cameron Graves and brothers Ronald Bruner, Jr. and Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner, released in 2004. From that point on, Washington continually performed and recorded with an impressive variety of major artists across several genres, including Snoop Dogg, Raphael Saadiq, Gerald Wilson, McCoy Tyner, George Duke, and PJ Morton. He self-released a handful of his own albums from 2005 to 2008 while also performing and recording as one-third of Throttle Elevator Music. In 2014 alone, Washington demonstrated his tremendous range with appearances on Broken Bells After the Disco, Harvey Masons Chameleon, Stanley Clarkes Up, and Flying Lotus Youre Dead!, among other albums that covered indie rock, contemporary and progressive jazz, and experimental electronic music. The following year, Washington contributed to Kendrick Lamars To Pimp a Butterfly and released The Epic on Flying Lotus Brainfeeder label. An expansive triple album nearly three hours in duration, it involved the other three-fourths of Young Jazz Giants -- by then part of his larger collective, alternately known as the Next Step and West Coast Get Down -- and a string orchestra and choir conducted by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. A critical and commercial success, The Epic landed at number three on Billboards jazz chart. Washington toured the U.S., played dates in Europe and Japan, and continued session work with contributions to albums by Terrace Martin, Carlos Niño, John Legend, Run the Jewels, and Thundercat, all while continuing to tour. Washington debuted the six-song project at the Whitney Biennial in March along with a film by A.G. Rojas and artwork by Amani Washington. In early 2017, Washington premiered Harmony of Difference, an original six-movement suite, as part of the Whitney Biennial, and compiled that recording for a six-track, 13-minute EP -- his first original music since The Epic two years earlier. Issued in September, Harmony of Difference explored the philosophical possibilities of counterpoint. Composed as a suite, it contains five separate movements and a sixth, "Truth," as a finale that includes tenets and themes from its predecessors. Washington returned in 2018 with the full-length Heaven & Earth. The double album featured contributions from Thundercat, Patrice Quinn, and Miles Mosley, and the singles "Fists of Fury" and "The Space Travelers" were released in advance of the record. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: The Proclamation Released: 2007 Tracks: 8 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Conception (?) 2 The Bombshells Waltz (?) 3 Fair as Equal (?) 4 Whacha Say (?) 5 The Rhythm Changes (?) 6 Lonely Woman (?) 7 Like Someone in Love (?) 8 Bobby Boom Dap (?) |
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: The Epic Released: 2015-05-05 Tracks: 17 Duration: 2:53:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Change of the Guard (12:16) 2 Askim (12:34) 3 Isabelle (12:12) 4 Final Thought (06:31) 5 The Next Step (14:48) 6 The Rhythm Changes (07:44) 1 Miss Understanding (08:46) 2 Leroy and Lanisha (09:24) 3 Re Run (08:19) 4 Seven Prayers (07:36) 5 Henrietta Our Hero (07:13) 6 The Magnificent 7 (12:46) 1 Re Run Home (14:06) 2 Cherokee (08:14) 3 Clair de Lune (11:07) 4 Malcolm’s Theme (08:40) 5 The Message (11:09) |
| The Epic : Allmusic album Review : The Epic is saxophonist Kamasi Washingtons aptly titled, triple-length, 172-minute debut album for Brainfeeder. He is a veteran of L.A.s music scene and has played with Gerald Wilson, Harvey Mason, Flying Lotus, and Kendrick Lamar (his horn is prominently featured on To Pimp a Butterfly), to name but a few. Most of his bandmates have played together since high school, and it shows. There are two drummers (including Ronald Bruner), two bassists (including Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner on electric), two keyboardists, trumpet, trombone, and vocals (Patrice Quinn). In various settings, they are supported by a string orchestra and full choir conducted by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Washington composed 13 of these 17 tunes; he also meticulously arranged and produced them. At just over six to nearly 15 minutes, the jams leave room for engaged improvisation. The Epic is based on a concept, though its unnecessary to grasp in order to enjoy. The music reflects many inspirations -- John Coltrane, Horace Tapscotts Pan-African Peoples Arkestra, Azar Lawrences Prestige period, Donald Byrds and Eddie Gales jazz and choir explorations, Pharoah Sanders pan global experiments, Afro-Latin jazz, spiritual soul, and DJ culture. A formidable soloist (he plays his ass off here), Coltrane is his greatest influence, but his tone is rawer, somewhere between Sanders and Albert Ayler. Disc ones "Change of the Guard" is an overture that commences with confident modal piano, a labyrinthine ensemble head, testifying choir, and bright, expansive solos from piano, trumpet, tenor, and upright bass, creating openness and drama. Theres balladic progressivism ("Isabelle"), strident Afro-Latin grooves ("Final Thought"), and Central Avenue roots ("The Next Step"), before it turns toward soulful futurism on "The Rhythm Changes," with vocals from Quinn. Disc two features the carooming electric post-bop of "Miss Understanding" with explosive choir, nasty Rhodes piano, and killer solos by Washington and trumpeter Igmar Thomas. "Re Run" emerges as sun-kissed spiritual jazz with trilling strings and choir before it evolves swinging, with a funky swagger amid popping keys, fleet electric bass, and trombone solos and strident breaks. "The Magnificent 7" contains an obvious cinematic reference with its swirling kinetic strings and airy chorale, but the ground is roaring electric, spiritual jazz-funk courtesy of Thundercat and Brandon Colemans organ and Rhodes. Disc three features the groove-drenched single "Re Run Home." Its head is straight on; Horace Silver and Harold Land come to mind, but the body spirals and turns left toward South L.A. funk. Traditions are bridged by a sunshiny soul cover of Ray Nobles standard "Cherokee," Terence Blanchards poignant "Malcolms Theme" (a gorgeous duet between Quinn and Dwight Trible), and a lithe read of Debussys "Clair de Lune" before closing with the propulsive, Latin-tinged, funky vanguardism of "The Message." The Epic isnt fusion, retro, or remotely academic. Its 21st century jazz as accessible as it is virtuosic -- feel matters to Washington. Holistic in breadth and deep in vision, it provides a way into this music for many, and challenges the cultural conversation about jazz without compromising or pandering. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Truth Released: 2017-04-12 Tracks: 1 Duration: 13:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Truth (13:30) |
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: Harmony of Difference Released: 2017-09-29 Tracks: 6 Duration: 31:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Desire (04:36) 2 Humility (02:46) 3 Knowledge (03:51) 4 Perspective (03:24) 5 Integrity (03:47) 6 Truth (13:30) |
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: The Choice Released: 2018-06-21 Tracks: 5 Duration: 38:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Secret of Jinsinson (08:07) 2 Will You Love Me Tomorrow (09:40) 3 My Family (06:34) 4 Agents of Multiverse (05:22) 5 Ooh Child (08:53) |
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: Heaven and Earth Released: 2018-06-22 Tracks: 21 Duration: 3:02:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Fists of Fury (09:42) 2 Can You Hear Him (08:54) 3 Hub‐Tones (09:09) 4 Connections (08:23) 5 Tiffakonkae (09:24) 6 The Invincible Youth (09:52) 7 Testify (05:43) 8 One of One (09:50) 1 The Space Travelers Lullaby (10:31) 2 Vi Lua Vi Sol (11:06) 3 Street Fighter Mas (05:57) 4 Song for the Fallen (12:41) 5 Journey (08:50) 6 The Psalmnist (07:18) 7 Show Us the Way (06:51) 8 Will You Sing (10:12) 1 The Secret of Jinsinson (08:07) 2 Will You Love Me Tomorrow (09:40) 3 My Family (06:34) 4 Agents of Multiverse (05:22) 5 Ooh Child (08:53) |