Los Angeles jazz superstar Kamasi Washington arrived onstage 12 minutes late.
This isn’t a complaint, but an acknowledgement of the saxophonist’s differing concept of time.
His last album, the aptly titled ‘The Epic’, demonstrates this with three hours of music spanning across three discs.
“Y’all ready to go on a journey?” he asked at the top of his set at Brisbane’s The Triffid (14 March). Unbeknown to us, we weren’t ready for the enthralling two hours that slipped by.
Kamasi has played with legends like Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar, providing textures for their beats. His music aims for the ambitious, which the eight-piece band achieved with thick slathers of jazz-funk.
Click here to read our February 2018 interview with Kamasi Washington.
Kamasi’s band features a host of talented musicians, who he praised throughout the night.
On the sunny ‘Leroy And Lanisha’, Kamasi shouted to keyboardist Brandon Coleman: “Put some hot sauce on there!” Brandon complied and launched into a sonic blur of funky notes, throwing his head back and cackling like a mad scientist at the new sounds he discovered.
Band members traded solos throughout. But rather than boasting their talents, each soloist’s aim was to bring joy to their bandmates. Kamasi looked on and nodded to each, letting out surprised laughs at the directions they took.
On the moving tribute to his grandmother, ‘Henrietta Our Hero’, Kamasi invited his father Rickey to the stage, whose sweet flute solo made Kamasi’s face beam with pride.
It became difficult to keep up with the action on stage. Before ‘Truth’, Kamasi explained the song featured five different melodies playing together to represent diversity and harmony. “Diversity isn’t something that should be tolerated, it should be celebrated,” he said.
My eyes darted from one player to the next. As soon as I paid attention to one, something else happened outside of my vision. I didn’t notice Joshua Crumbly swap from double bass to an electric until seeing singer Patricia Quinn mime playing his smooth grooves.
Even when drummers Robert Miller and Ronald Bruner Jr were left alone on the stage it was hard to keep up with the cracks and thumps they traded. Eventually I let go, to be taken over by the sizzling rhythms.
By closer ‘The Rhythm Changes’, the crowd became a sea of nodding heads. The music dropped out for Kamasi’s solo, his cheeks puffing for the flurry of notes bursting from his sax.
The band returned, all building towards a climax of crashing cymbals and galloping horns. As the last note was replaced by roaring applause, I checked my clock to see that two hours had flown by.
Kamasi Washington really did take us on a journey, one filled music and colour. It’s a shame it had to end.
