Music review: Kamasi Washington

Kamasi Washington. Heaven and Earth. Young Turks. ★★★★★

Robert Johnson, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix. You can now add another name to this list of pivotal music pioneers.

His name is Kamasi Washington. He's in his late 30s, and while, nominally at least, his music is placed in the "jazz bag", the reality is that he's a genre-jumper.

As sax player, band leader, and most importantly composer, he delivers nearly two and a-half hours of jazz-based themes and work-outs on Heaven and Earth.

And the thing is, listening to Kamasi and his fellow travellers never seems like a burden.

Yes, it is a tour de force, and, yes, it is remarkable. It comes as a two-CD set, or better yet, as a four-LP package. Kamasi Washington. A religious experience. Very close.

 - Tony Nielsen


 

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