Kamasi Washington Crafts Jazz Boldly and Spiritually
A deep dive into his latest album, Fearless Movement
The shitty thing about pioneers is also what makes them so exciting — after dazzling us, they’re competing against themselves again and again to top themselves.
That’s exactly where Los Angeles jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington finds himself. Lucky for him, he’s up for the task and has several secret weapons that he deftly deploys and it isn’t always his sax.
Starting with an impressive education in the arts, Washington found kindred spirits early on with bassist Stephen “Thundercat” Brunner, recording with him as the Young Lions in 2004 and recording with legendary trumpeter and big band arranger Gerald Wilson the following year. Also in 2005, Washington put out his first album, a self-released buoyant live double, featuring a big band with Brauner, Washington’s own father (a fellow saxist) and several players that remain with him to this day, many of whom come from the West Coast Get Down collective, which Washington himself also started out in early on. His dynamic studio debut, 2007’s The Proclamation (also self-released and worth seeking out), similarly featured a hard-hitting large ensemble playing lengthy tracks. 2008’s Light of the World was again self-released, now featuring a quartet, 70’s fusion, some excellent sax workouts and a strong Christian bend to it. Promising as all these were, he was only getting started.
After making a name for himself as a wide-ranging sideman for Snoop Dogg, Ryan Adams, Twilight Singers (an Afghan Whigs side-project), Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus, Washington put out the triple-CD set, appropriately-titled The Epic, in 2015 on Lotus’s Brainfeeder label, again featuring Thundercat’s nimble fingers. Of the 17 songs, most of them were around 10-minutes or more, but he didn’t dawdle or waste time. With a core band of 6-10 players, plus a nine piece string section and 14-piece choir, he effortlessly melded shades of bop, post-bop and free jazz along with celestial music and hip-hop rhythms. Not just in length but also in musical ambition, Washington had made a major statement and took himself to the forefront of the jazz world and beyond.
His follow-up, 2018’s Heaven and Earth (which clocked in at two-and–half hours) on the Young Turks indie label, was an honorable extension of his ambitious agenda of fusing the spiritual and earthy music, and it sure as hell would have bowled people over even more if it had appeared before The Epic.
But along with his remarkable albums, there’s a lot more going on with Washington that’s made him a notable figure inside and outside of jazz. One thing’s inescapable once you lay eyes on him — he’s a dapper (and handsome) motherfucker for sure. Decked out in custom-made cashmere and cowskin robes, he proudly displayed his love for African garments, which has only gotten more elaborate recently. If you think it’s pretty to hone in on his looks, you’ve never seen him live or peeped any of his album jackets where he doesn’t hold back his fashion sense. And he shouldn’t.
There’s the spirituality thing. His father Ricky had his own Christian jazz group, which no doubt rubbed off on his son. After covering “The Lord’s Prayer” and “Amazing Grace” on Light of the World and name-checking Jesus there, Washington has found other ways to consistently incorporate the holy into the grooves of his songs, with choirs and lyrics that tap into the eternal on all of his albums. As he told The Desert Sun in 2021, “I think music inherently has a spiritual connection. For me, it’s a very important part of my connection to music.” Along with his love of John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane’s music, he definitely picked up on their spiritual-mindedness too.
And then there’s the not-so-little matter of his crossover status. With larger-than-life precedents like Satchmo, Miles, Herbie and Dizzy, Washington has managed to get noticed and then some outside of the jazz universe. The previously mentioned guest shots and stylishness, grandiose releases and holy mindset created the aura of a visionary and helped him to get recognition in Pitchfork, Spin, MOJO, Relix and NME, not to mention getting feature stories in even larger markets with GQ and Wall Street Journal when the Epic came out. As such, Washington joins a small, elite group of recent jazz artists who have also made the crossover to mainstream consciousness, including Esperanza Spalding, Robert Glasper, George Porter and his ol’ buddy Thundercat. Just going from aesthetics too, Washington’s crossover moves are much more organic and less embarrassing than some of the latter day attempts by John Coltrane and Albert Ayler.
So, how has all this history, hype and prep-work landed for Washington? No less than authority than L.D. Greene, managing editor at New York City Jazz Record (disclose: I also write for ‘em), had these not-too-shabby words to say about Washington’s work when I queried him:
“Blowing new life into a tradition that had been well-established decades prior, seemingly from a bygone era when spiritual jazz was arguably making its first strides during Coltrane’s latter years with main protagonists Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, Gary Bartz, Azar Lawrence, Kahil El’Zabar and a host of others—the now-43 year old Washington’s success is part of a whole new generation of players who are additionally tapping into the world of Hip-hop, in particular.”
See what I mean by how Washington still has a hell of a lot riding on his work?
After a soundtrack and EP and six years since his last studio album comes his latest record, Fearless Movement, yet another bold title. Like Heaven and Earth, it’s a double CD, with 12 songs stretching over an hour and a half. Never let it be said that Washington doesn’t turn his releases into extended listening experiences, not to mention music journeys. Unlike the previous album though, it’s not just an extension of what he’s done before but more of an expansion where he’s even more varied, daring and more confident now. Here, he leans more into Me-Decade soul and features as many guest shots as you’d expect to see on a rap album, though they’re front loaded onto the first half of the album. What’s more, Washington shows his incredible loyalty and steadfastness by keeping on many of the players from his first albums here, including bassist Miles Mosley, drummer Tony Austin, keyboard players Brandan Coleman, pianist Cameron Graves, trombonist Ryan Porter, singer Patrice Quinn, a certain feline-named bassist and his brother, drummer Ronald Brunner Jr.
Starting the new album with “Lesanu,” Washington deploys gentle percussion and a multilingual chant (‘sing onto the Lord a new song’) leading to the band rumbling then launching into swing groove and Afrobeat unison horn phrasing over boisterous gospel revival claps showing off an impressive, mind-boggling fusion of styles right off the bat. After an onslaught of two drummers and three percussionists, Washington comes in about half way through for an extended solo, gliding but not showing off or overwhelming us, showing us his masterful control.
Thundercat returns next on “Asha the First,” leading another chant (“now my heart if free/staring back at me”) over the band’s rumbling and sounding like another gospel revival. Soon, his bass powers in with loud, snappy tones over a funny groove until Washington flies in for a high speed chase over forceful tones. After another round of chants we get Taj Austin’s fast, angry rap verses running from cosmic to ecological concerns, followed by Ras Austin’s pivot from the cosmic to anti-consumer and anti-racism ala Gil Scott-Heron and Michael Franti, which is convincing but could have been done a little better by more appropriate company like fellow jazz fan Q-Tip or Common (who’s a Washington fan himself).
From there, we’re taken to a decades-old time warp with funk pioneer Zapp’s “Computer Love.” Calm, peaceful horns lead to a soothing bop groove and Patrice Quinn’s lovely soulful voice with lyrics that are so wonderfully 70’s (“Shooby-doo-bop, shoo-doo-bop I wanna love you”) even though they came out in the 80’s. After Brandon Coleman’s wild high synthesizer solo, Washington takes over with a breathless, hard hitting solo, building the song up to a climax with the voices testifying at the end.
Lastly barely a minute, “The Visionary” is a duet with saxist Terrace Martin, another break-away jazz star in his own right, who also appeared on Washington’s first (live) album. Here, the two intertwin and echo each other and you wish it would all last longer.
Another history lesson follows, now featuring P-Funk mastermind George Clinton on “Get Lit” and an appropriate 70’s smooth funk groove. D. Smoke provides amusing rap verses about a tipsy hook-up with a lady, alternating with Uncle George’s languid verses and here, Washington keeps himself in check, instead including a flute solo from his father.
Speaking of flute players, Andre 3000’s guest spot on “Dream State” is telling. As Washington has folded rap into his music, the platinum rapper has come over to jazz now, coming out the other end. With a floaty ambient opening, Dre and Washington dance around each other as their duet becomes more elaborate, playful and drawn out, then cycling down to some laid-back funk before Washington takes off again on an R&B tip with Dre following close behind. Quite a shift from the last song but Washington isn’t afraid to turn his albums into musical kaleidoscopes.
This leads us to another mellow, quiet-storm groove with “Together” as BJ the Chicago Kid’s lovely laid-back voice lays out some divine love: “Our hearts whirlin’ through time and space/Dreams and fates, we’d embrace as we laid.” After Ryan Porter’s suave trombone solo, Washington gets sexy too, starting out nice and slow, then building up momentum, getting louder and more forceful before settling back into a nice gentle groove.
With the ‘guest’ half of the album complete, Washington shows off more of his band with “The Garden Path,” starting with clamorous percussion over a soulful chant, “bright minds/with dark eyes/speak loud words/tell sweet lies.” Washington solos freer and wilder than before, followed by Donate Winslow’s fiery trumpet then Porter taking on a high speed climatic solo, before the chants come in again, sounding even more uplifting now.
The 13-minute-plus “Road To Self (KO)” earns its length and is the most elaborate piece here. Beginning with gentle, spacey synths, Washington quietly plays, occasionally echoed and then picks up the pace, getting more frantic as the band bashes behind him. After some muted, quiet bass goes all wah-wah, guitarist Woody Aplanalp roars into “Maggot Brain” territory, followed by low-key solo drums getting more pronounced before the breathy horn ensemble theme returns, trailing off into throbbing electronics.
An obvious and loving Trane tribute, “Interstellar Peace (The Last Stance)” features dramatic piano and a sad horn theme with muted voices as a hushed choir builds up in sound. The horns break out briefly to solo alternately and then come together again and again, finding peace at the end, after the struggle and strife.
We sail back into 70’s quiet storm territory on “Lines in the Sand” with a 70’s fusion shuffle underneath as the chanted voices speak of lines as barriers to overcome (“lines in the sand won’t take my soul from me.. Won’t tell me what to think”). After Washington takes a tranquil solo, Cameron Graves supplies a dexterous piano solo. The voices defiantly chant again as the horns raise up, turning more emotional and uplifting at the end.
VIDEO: Kamasi Washington “Prologue”
“Prologue” then ends things with a bang, riding on an insistent funky Miles-like 70’s groove. The sweet, serene horn chorus gets more assertive as Winslow provides a fast-flying extended solo. Washington enters the proceedings, tempered at first, later speeding up and getting more raucous, matching the R&B groove underneath him. Then he then roars into squeals and screams as the synths scream back at him. But then we’re taken to a calmer place as we float along on a funk shuffle. A soothing horn theme then becomes more emphatic and staccato as the groove winds down. A hell of a grand finale there.
But again, even with what’s an impressive step-forward in the middle of an already impressive career, how does Washington maintain this and follow-up? Maybe the only player in modern jazz who’s comparable in scope right now is UK player Shabaka Hutchings, who’s proving himself tireless with a wide range of bands. As of now, Washington has nothing he needs to prove after having done so much already but no doubt, he himself feels that he still has everything to prove and no doubt he will. Where he goes from here likely won’t only be a trailblazing path for himself but potentially for all of jazz. That’s a lot of pressure there, but it will be a pleasure for us to watch and listen. And no doubt, we’ll see it all with some even more elaborate outfits.
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