Kamasi Washington showed live the most exciting thing happening in jazz today

An electrifying concert was performed by saxophonist and composer Kamasi Washington together with his band The Next Step. A solid presentation of what we could call the most exciting thing happening in jazz right now.

The exhibition at the C Art Media Complex, in Villa Crespo, also demonstrated the strong bond that his proposal has with the public. Unlike rock or pop shows, jazz concerts often rely on musical moments rather than particular songs; with Kamasi, this does not happen, his audience celebrated the arrival of each of the songs.

By the way, an audience that was not made up of jazz fans gave the concert a different alchemy and, as happened in their shows, people, in addition to celebrating each of the band’s solos, danced.

Two hours of concert

Kamasi has played with Dontae Winslow on trumpet, Rickey Washington (his father) on flute and soprano sax, Cameron Graves on keyboards, Miles Mosley on double bass, Tony Austin and Ronald Brunner Jr. on drums and Patrice Quinn on vocals.

During the two-hour concert, he showed a repertoire with material from each of his three albums in addition to his two most recent compositions, Sun kissed child (dedicated to the newborn daughter) e The garden pathas well as a keyboardist theme, outline africa.

With her corn-colored dashiki and conspicuously huge rings, Kamasi is an imposing figure who exudes a singular energy. His music goes on, he doesn’t try to go back to remind us of his roots, perhaps because he feels there is a future.

The strong point of his proposal is his commitment to the future which sounds like hope but devoid of naivety. His music dreams big.

the first theme

“I will be a prophet tonight,” the saxophonist said at the opening and the band launched into an overwhelming version of The garden path. The bass drum of the two drums created a push that was felt in the chest as the melody tried to scale that sonic wall.

The first impression of the audience near the stage was one of shocking surprise at the volume that took the audience out of that comfort zone. There is no theatricality but a genuine desire to create an interaction with people who took some time to get out of the amazement.

Winslow’s trumpet solos, somewhat reminiscent of Miles Davis’ style in his jazz fusion days, short phrases, followed by rhythmic reiteration, and Kamasi’s vitality in his fluid improvisation were applauded.

At the end of the song, a cautious step back by many people demonstrated the effects of that sonic hurricane that The Next Step unleashed.

interstellar funk

More street fighter it weaves an R&B-soaked funk and some solos, particularly those of Cameron from moog, with that interstellar atmosphere that Sun Ra Arkestra created so well.

After, Sun kissed childwhere Quinn stood out, a singer with a velvety voice that balances so much fury on stage and Mosley, a double bass player with character, inspired, with original ideas and who was the real pivot between the wind set and the rhythmic wall of the two drums that exchanged functions: while one remains to support the theme, the rest improvises and thus collaborates with the climate of the composition.

version of Hub tonesby Freddie Hubbard, is another example of how funk influences Kamasi’s music, although in this case he has added a layer of Latin rhythms that seem to give soloists an extra boost.

Great moments

After the introduction of the saxophone, which ended up sounding like a message of jargon, the way was opened for one of the great moments of the evening: while Winslow, always close to Davis’ ideas, developed an excellent solo, balanced and incisive, Kamasi responded with skillful improvisation both in his labyrinthine way and in creating that powerful expressionist message.

Another key moment was Truthwhich had as its prologue some of the values ​​that Kamasi upholds: “Differences should not be tolerated, but celebrated and Truth it is a metaphor for the beauty of differences “.

The first bars were entrusted to the double bass player and from that moment a real sound sheet began to unfold with several solos that created an enveloping atmosphere where funk, hip hop flows on a polyrhythmic mantle.

outline africa is more Latin than African, even so, he showed Coleman’s compositional quality and Rickey Washington’s creativity on the flute, with a solo influenced by the style of the masterful Sam Rivers and eventually a killer version of Fist of Fury (central theme of Bruce Lee’s film) with space for several solos and overwhelming energy.

Quinn sings: “I use my hands / To help others / I use my hands / To do what I can / And when I’m faced with an unfair wound / Then I trade my hands for fists of anger.” Kamasi made the warning at the time that it is a call to action, not violence.

There was an encore with the catchy Rhythm changesplayed with an R&B cadence and a way of celebrating the end with the vigorous sound of black music as a flag and that spirit of uniqueness that has The Next Step, led by Kamasi Washington, eloquent narrator of what jazz should be for this torturous 21st. century.

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