Kamasi Washington

He is a founding member of the jazz collective West Coast Get Down.

Kamasi Washington
Washington in 2017
Background information
Born	(1981-02-18) February 18, 1981 (age 43) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Tenor saxophone
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Young XL Brainfeeder
Member of	West Coast Get Down
Website	kamasiwashington.com

Washington was born in 1981 and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of the Academy of Music of Alexander Hamilton High School in Beverlywood, Los Angeles. Washington next enrolled in UCLA's Department of Ethnomusicology, where he began playing with faculty members such as Kenny Burrell, Gerald Wilson, and Billy Higgins, who mentored a quartet with Washington, pianist Cameron Graves, and the brothers Stephen ("Thundercat") and Ronald Bruner. They released their debut album Young Jazz Giants in 2004 on Birdman Records.

Washington joined the Gerald Wilson Orchestra for its 2005 album In My Time. In 2008 and 2009 "The Kamasi Washington Band" played the outdoor Labor Day Jazz Concert on the Main Green at Village Green, Los Angeles. Washington played saxophone on Kendrick Lamar's album To Pimp a Butterfly, released on March 25, 2015. Washington's debut solo recording, The Epic, was released in May 2015. Washington contributed saxophone on the Thundercat song "Them Changes", which was released on June 18, 2015, as a single from the EP The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam; the track was later included on Thundercat's full-length album Drunk (2017).

Washington released the mini-album/EP Harmony of Difference in September 2017. This was followed by his second full-length studio album, Heaven and Earth, which was released in June 2018, with a companion EP titled The Choice released a week later.

 

Washington has played along with a diverse group of musicians including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Horace Tapscott, Lauryn Hill, Nas, Snoop Dogg, George Duke, Chaka Khan, Flying Lotus, Mike Muir, Francisco Aguabella, St. Vincent, the Pan Afrikaan People's Orchestra, Run the Jewels and Raphael Saadiq.

On June 25, 2020, Washington, Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, and 9th Wonder announced the formation of the supergroup Dinner Party. They released a single, "Freeze Tag", and their debut extended play, Dinner Party, was released on July 10, 2020.

On June 18, 2021, Washington released a new song "Sun Kissed Child" as part of The Undefeated's Music for the Movement series. Also in 2021, Washington and his band contributed a cover of the Metallica song "My Friend of Misery" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist.

As leader/co-leader

Studio albums

• Young Jazz Giants (with Cameron Graves, Stephen Bruner, & Ronald Bruner Jr.) (Birdman, 2004)
• Live at 5th Street Dick's (self-released, 2005)
• The Proclamation (self-released, 2007)
• Light of the World (self-released, 2008)
• The Epic (Brainfeeder, 2015)
• Heaven and Earth (Young, 2018)
• Fearless Movement (Young, 2024)

EPs

• Harmony of Difference (Young, 2017)
• The Choice (Young, 2018)
• Becoming – Music from the Netflix Original Documentary (Young, 2020)
• Dinner Party with Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, 9th Wonder (Sounds of Crenshaw/Empire, 2020)
• Enigmatic Society with Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, 9th Wonder (Sounds of Crenshaw/Empire, 2023)

With Throttle Elevator Music

• Throttle Elevator Music (Wide Hive, 2012)
• Area J (Wide Hive, 2014)
• Jagged Rocks (Wide Hive, 2015)
• Throttle Elevator Music IV (Wide Hive, 2016)
• Retrorespective (Wide Hive, 2017)
• Emergency Exit (Wide Hive, 2020)
• Final Floor (Wide Hive, 2021)

As sideman

• Gold by Ryan Adams — on "New York, New York" and "Touch, Feel & Lose" (Lost Highway, 2001)
• Blackberry Belle by The Twilight Singers (One Little Indian, 2003)
• R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece by Snoop Dogg — on "No Thang On Me" (Geffen/Star Trak/Doggy Style, 2004)
• Searching for Jerry Garcia by Proof — on "Pimplikeness" (Iron Fist Records, 2005)
• Something Else
• Ego Trippin' by Snoop Dogg — on "Press Play" (Geffen/Doggy Style, 2008)
• The Golden Age of Apocalypse by Thundercat – on "Is It Love?" (Brainfeeder, 2011)
• Perseverance by Phil Ranelin (Wide Hive, 2011)
• DreamWeaver by George Duke – on "Stones of Orion," "Trippin'," "Ashtray," "Ball & Chain" (with Teena Marie), and "Burnt Sausage Jam" (Heads Up, 2013)
• Chameleon by Harvey Mason – on "Black Frost" (Concord, 2014)
• Up by Stanley Clarke – on "I Have Something to Tell You Tonight" (Mack Avenue, 2014)
• You're Dead! by Flying Lotus (Warp, 2014)
• To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar – saxophone on "u", string arrangement for "Mortal Man" (Aftermath/Interscope, 2015)
• The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam by Thundercat (Brainfeeder, 2015)
• Run the Jewels 3 by Run the Jewels – on "Thursday in the Danger Room" (Mass Appeal/RED, 2016)
• Drunk by Thundercat (Brainfeeder, 2017)
• Damn by Kendrick Lamar – strings on "Lust" (Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope, 2017)
• Ash by Ibeyi – on "Deathless" (XL, 2017)
• Masseduction by St. Vincent – on "Pills" (Loma Vista, 2017)
• Alone by Cory Henry – on "Operation Funk" (Culture Collective, 2022)

With the Gerald Wilson Orchestra

• In My Time (Mack Avenue, 2005)
• Monterey Moods (Mack Avenue, 2007)
• Detroit (Mack Avenue, 2009)
• Legacy (Mack Avenue, 2011)