Star Saxophonist Kamasi Washington to Play "Epic" Blue Note Gigs, Sep 22-23

Though jazz doesn't exactly produce household names anymore, if any current artist were to attain the superstardom of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker or even Wynton Marsalis, it'd be Kamasi Washington.

The 36-year-old Los Angelino saxophonist – set to play Blue Note Beijing on September 22-23, a mere week before the release of his new album, Harmony of Difference – made a name for himself playing on Kendrick Lamar's landmark 2015 hip-hop album To Pimp a Butterfly. Later that year, Washington released a sprawling triple album called The Epic, and critics and fans have been raving about him ever since. A subsequent New York Times profile detailed how Washington is one of today's few jazz musicians to play concert halls, rather than smaller clubs, before adding that fans applauded him as if he were a rock star when he stepped onstage.

Yes, many of those fans were initially drawn to his collaborations with hip-hop juggernauts like Lamar. But Washington is sure to be equally remembered for introducing a new generation to jazz through his own recordings. The Epic, for instance, consists of 17 tracks amounting to 174 minutes of music. On those songs, Washington and his ten-piece band explore Latin-tinged vibes on "Final Thought" and "Re Run Home," elegant cabaret rhythms on "Cherokee," soaring funk on "Changing of the Guard," and more. None of it is the inaccessible, stale sort of musicianship that the uninitiated dismiss jazz to be.

Or, as the New York Times put it, Washington gig attendees "do something that people at jazz concerts seldom do anymore: They dance."

Cut a rug of your own to the saxophonist's gripping grooves at Blue Note on September 22-23. The shows start at 7.30pm and tickets range from RMB 500-600 depending on your seat. For more information, click here.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle

Photos: LA Times, Royal Albery Hall