Kamasi Washington
16th March 2018
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Kate Powell. Photography by Mike Thornton.
Speaking broadly, modern Jazz shows tend to have an older audience who are more interested in staying in their seats and taking in the performance. But Kamasi Washington’s show at The Powerstation last night was not your typical modern Jazz performance.
Touring off the back of his latest EP Harmony of Difference, the follow up to 2015’s aptly-named The Epic, Washington and his band The Next Step put on an almost two hour performance to a rapturous crowd.
As a musician, Washington is in that rare position where he has crossed over into hip-hop and pop while maintaining credibility in his chosen genre. While Grandmaster Flash and Jurassic Five would tell you that hip-hop fusion is nothing new, Washington is once again, a different case. Specialising in tenor saxophone, he has a complex and sombre style, not disimilar to Ben Webster, John Coltrane, heck even David Bowie before him. But his work with Run the Jewels, Snoop Dogg and most notably with David Bowie for his brilliant swangsong Blackstar and Kendrick Lamar’s genre redefining album To Pimp a Butterfly means that although Washington’s music is of jazz, the place it is created in is quite different. Rather than sampling, there is a sense of collaboration, of feeling free and able to stretch and step outside the confines of each genre to create something that is both past, present and future and captured a demographic-defying audience.
He opened with Changing of the Guard, a dense, extravagent tune that is effectively a love letter to John Coltrane. From McCoy Tyner inspired keys to Washington’s own screeching sax reminiscent of Coltrane’s later work, it becomes immediately apparent that Washington’s true skill is creating explosive, expansive compositions that through his finesse, manage to remain accessible. The heady, psychedelic and soulful Henrietta our Hero followed, giving the spotlight to soulful singer Patrice Quinn. Her fluid stage prescence offered a refereshing counterpoint to musicians otherwise focused on their technique.
Weaving conventional jazz with experimental elements, fiery solos with tempos and melodies fraying at the edges was the order of the evening, with each expansive performance founded on punchy, solid hooks and Washington’s smooth, spiritual take on jazz saxophone.
The rhythm was almost distractingly good, at times it was too easy to get swept up in it and forget to obsess over the gobsmacking technical ability of each musician. Keeping to the collaborative ethos of both jazz and Washington himself, each musician was given a time in the spotlight. Notably, the drum duel created a lopsided beat that offered some explanation for Washington’s success in rejuvenating jazz-he’s taking it back to it’s dance music roots. Brandon Coleman’s Giant Feelings merged funky rhythm music from the 1960s through a playful hip-hop filter and was a joy to watch.
Truth proved to be a musical tour de force and captured Washington’s ethos to date beautifully. Taken from his Harmony of Difference EP, it was released as part of a short film by A.G Rojas. Washington spends most of this EP focussing on exploring counterpoint and the actual construction of jazz. The structural deja vu of Truth sees melodies, riffs and time signatures intertwine with each other, fading in and out. The layers built together around a relatively simple melody, capturing what makes them unique while also showing how the tones can co-exist. It was a dense, maximalist piece that whips the crowd up into a frenzy, leaving Washington to cool the crowd down with The Rhythm Changes.
Overall the crowd was left with, over and above the musical talent and compositional flair, an impression of sheer naked joy in the musicians. Washington and his band aren’t just incredibly good at jazz. They adore it, and that love was transmitted directly to the Powerstation’s rapt audience.
Were you there at the Powerstation for this magnificent jazz gig? Or have you seen Kamasi Washington perform live at some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Change Of The Guard
- Magnificent 7
- Henrietta
- Giant Feelings
- Humility
- Truth
- The Rhythm Changes
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.