Kamasi Washington is a native of Los Angeles who studied at the Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA, where he played with faculty members like Gerald Wilson, Kenny Burrell, and Billy Higgins. Higgins mentored a jazz quartet comprising Ronald and Stephen Bruner, pianist Cameron Graves, and Washington. The group released “Young Jazz Giants,” their debut album, in 2004.
In 2008 and 2009, Washington had his own group, “The Kamasi Washington Band,” which gave a Labor Day Jazz Concert on the Village Green’s Main Green in Los Angeles.
Washington played on the “To Pimp a Butterfly” album by Kendrick Lamar, and made his solo debut, “The Epic,” which he released in 2015. In 2017, he released the EP/mini album “Harmony of Difference,” which he followed with his second study album, “Heaven and Earth.” The “Heaven and Earth” album has won a total of four awards, including “Best Jazz Album.”
Washington has played with musicians including Snoop Dogg, Nas, and Herbie Hancock, and has appeared at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. A review says:
“this was such an amazing concert!!!! . . . there was such an amazing energy, and of course the music was fantastic, so powerful and so moving . . .”
Washington will be at The Ludlow Garage on May 8. Organizers of events like this often use poster printing to create advertising for the evening.