The Jazz Sax icon put on a rollercoaster of an emotion-inducing show.
News of Kamasi Washington headlining Jazz Fest on the 2nd of July had people buzzing with excitement as they approached the TD stage.
Clouds of Colombian smoke arose with the commencement of their debut “The Garden Path.” This track, which was recently released on February 2nd featured the introduction of Patrice Quinn, the main vocalist of the group, and the double bassist by Miles Mosley. Mosley played in a very John Coltrane-esque manner, with a Wah pedal to boot!
“Street Fighter Mas” was the next song that followed. From the 144-minute album Heaven and Earth. Ryan Porter gave the crowd a little taste-tester of his musical prowess on the Trombone.
The third song was “Sun Kissed Child,” which, as he said, “I dedicated it to my daughter.” It started off once more with a bass solo with Mr. Mosley. The phrase “Liberate Womxn” was donned on his bass for this song. The fans approved. A flute solo by Rickey Washington, Kamasi’s father, was shortly followed after the song’s first section.
Washington (Kamasi) gave the audience a masterclass of sorts on music theory, specifically the truth on harmonies. He helped guide us on the right way to understand the meaning of his EP Harmony Of Difference. Spanning 6 songs, including the single “Truth, ” which was my favourite part of the set.
It was an emotional experience going through each song, starting with “Desire,” where Mosley once again started the track with an eerie melody using a tremolo, distortion, and wah pedal. It was a premeditated experimental tune that brought the piano Cameron Graves in with a second harmony. Then came soulful vocals that enveloped the instruments. When the fifth and final harmony arrived (“Truth”), the crowd was swaying to the ever-hanging bpm, which was at 230 bpm by the end.
The two sections that followed suit were like so:
Coda 1: an upbeat fusion of jazz and funk (junk). And Coda 2: a romantic, moody melody which finished off the entire Harmony of Difference “saga.”
To be quite Frank, Mosley stole the show, what with his bass solos, incorporating genres like funk and punk to give more of a punch to his playing style.
Reggie Andrews, Washington’s mentor, was paid tribute and honoured with a song that they used to play in Highschool “to get hyped:” “the Egyptian,” a cover by Curtis Fuller. The beginning honestly sounded somewhat like Miles Davis’ “So What.” Rickey Washington properly introduced himself to the crowd this time with a solo on the clarinet. On trombone, Mr. Porter wowed everyone with his virtuoso level of playing.
“The end of Corporatism,” written by pianist Graves was the fifth song on the setlist. His musicianship made a profound impact on the audience’s mood. The track had a melange of Latin and bebop, which would have made Chick Corea smile.
Drummer Mike Mitchell graced the crowd with his first drum solo, which had six sections before going back into Graves’ song. Sometime after playing through the second section, his long-standing blue wig fell off, making the crowd laugh.
The last (but not least) person to be introduced was the second drummer (yes, they had two drummers), Tony Austen. His style of drumming contrasted Mitchell’s quite well, which helped when they both played together, filling in each other’s spaces. Austen performed his solo for the last song, Fists of Fury, which ended the setlist at 11pm on the dot.
If you haven’t seen nor heard of Kamasi Washington, please do yourself a favour and listen to his portfolio for starters. You won’t be disappointed.
Setlist
- The Garden Path
- Street Fighter Mas
- Sun Kissed Child
- Truth
- The End of Corporatism
- The Egyptian (Curtis Fuller cover)
- Fists of Fury
Review – Saro Hartounian
Photos – Kieron Yates and Isabelle Oleksiuk
