Kamasi Washington played two nights at the Blue Note (with Thundercat & more), adds another NYC date
Kamasi Washington @ Blue Note (photo by Ryan Fitch)
For his New York debut as a bandleader, Washington brought along some of the friends. “I met Terrace when I was 13,” Washington told the crowd when introducing Terrace Martin, alto saxophonist and heavyweight hip-hop producer for the likes of Snoop Dogg, “and he was bad way back then.” Martin brought the bandleader on board for Kendrick Lamar’s similarly epic album To Pimp A Butterfly, where he worked alongside fellow hometown hero bassist Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner – who also joined the band at the Blue Note.
Opening with Askim, the band laid down grooves so deep they threatened to run through the stage. “The rhythm is thick up in here,” Washington said, alluding to the two drum sets and two bassists (one upright, one electric) onstage who seamlessly took the song through everything from a retro-sounding shuffle, to a modified reggae beat, to one that was almost samba-like. The crowd were moving in their seats, naturally.
…aesthetically the sound was a hearty mix of soul jazz and contemporary composition, the group’s welcoming attitude was a tribute to jazz’s occasionally messy, brash and party-ready beginnings. A wah-wah pedal for a bowed upright bass solo? An onstage drum-off? It all fits with Washington at the helm. [The Guardian]
Jazz musician Kamasi Washington just wrapped up a two-night, four-show stand at the Blue Note in NYC on his ongoing tour. He had a massive band, including frequent collaborator Thundercat, as The Guardian‘s review quoted above points out. You can read the rest of that here and check out more some pictures below.
We recently mentioned his tour would have him back in NYC for CMJ show on October 15 at BRIC House (tickets), and he since added another NYC show. This one’s at Le Poisson Rouge (10/16) the following day. Tickets are on sale now. Updated dates are listed below.
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Kamasi Washington — 2015 Tour Dates
AUG 26 WED Howard Theatre Washington, DC
AUG 27 THU World Cafe Live Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA
AUG 29 SAT Baltimore Soundstage Baltimore, MD
SEP 9 WED Bottom Lounge Chicago, IL
SEP 10 THU ICEHOUSE Minneapolis, MN
SEP 11 FRI Slowdown Omaha, NE
SEP 13 SUN Soda Bar San Diego, CA
SEP 16 WED Smith Center Las Vegas, NV
SEP 18 FRI Harlow’s Sacramento, CA
SEP 19 SAT The Warfield San Francisco, CA
SEP 24 THU Boulder Theater Boulder, CO
SEP 25 FRI The State Room Salt Lake City, UT
OCT 15 THU BRIC House Booklyn, NY
OCT 16 FRI Le Poisson Rouge New York, NY
OCT 24 SAT SoulFest Sydney, Australia
OCT 25 SUN SoulFest Melbourne, Australia
OCT 26 MON SoulFest Auckland, New Zealand
NOV 4 WED Bird Rotterdam, Netherlands
NOV 5 THU Bitterzoet Amsterdam, Netherlands
NOV 6 FRI Gruenspan Hamburg, Germany
NOV 7 SAT So What’s Next Festival Eindhoven, Netherlands
NOV 8 SUN Kulturzentrum dasHaus Ludwigshafen Am Rhein, Germany
NOV 9 MON Locomotiv Bologna, Italy
NOV 10 TUE Monk Club Rome, Italy
NOV 11 WED Tunnel Club Milano, Italy
NOV 13 FRI The Lantern Bristol, United Kingdom
NOV 14 SAT Barbican Theatre London, United Kingdom
NOV 15 SUN Le Trabendo Paris, France
NOV 16 MON AB Club Brussels, Belgium
NOV 17 TUE Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld Cologne, Germany
NOV 18 WED Unterfahrt Munich, Germany
NOV 21 SAT Le Guess Who Festival Utrecht, Netherlands
NOV 22 SUN Neue Heimat Berlin, Germany
NOV 23 MON DR Koncerthuset København S, Denmark
NOV 24 TUE Nasjonal Jazzscene Oslo, Norway
NOV 25 WED Fasching Stockholm, Sweden
NOV 26 THU Nefertiti Gothenburg, Sweden
NOV 27 FRI Folken Stavanger, Norway
NOV 28 SAT Verftet Bergen, Norway
NOV 30 MON THE CIRCUS Helsinki, Finland
DEC 10 THU Club Nokia Los Angeles, CA
