Recap: Kamasi Washington at the Mesa Arts Center

Kamasi Washington wrapped up the US leg of his Fearless Movement tour on Tuesday (June 11) with a stop at the Ikeda Theater (Mesa Arts Center) here in Mesa, AZ.

I became aware of Kamasi Washington back in 2015 with his release of The Epic, which introduced a lot of us to his unique brand of spaced out jazz, funk and R&B. He’s a breath of fresh air in the music landscape, someone unapologetically unique. So when I heard he’d be playing an excellent venue 25 minutes from my home, I couldn’t pass it up. 

Fearless Movement was released earlier this year, and the ensuing tour has focused solely on songs from that collection. The band is made up of Kamasi on sax (& some keys), Brandon Coleman on keyboards, Miles Mosley on bass, Tony Austin on drums, singer Patrice Quinn , DJ Battlecat on the rig, Ryan Porter on trombone, and Kamasi’s father Ricky Washington on flute and soprano sax. 

As you’d expect, the musicianship is top shelf, premium-caliber stuff. The rhythm section alone had me spellbound at times. Tony Mosley on upright bass, three stripes painted on his face, dressed like a counterculture paramilitary badass, whipped out his bow and effects for a couple of really cool solos.  Tony Austin, behind the kit, with his varying tempos, fills and rapid fire attacks. Each song tends to go several different directions style and tempo-wise, and Tony was on point, tapping and crashing and filling and just complementing the musicians so well. 

Although the set list has been static during the tour, it’s clear that each song is an adventure in improvisation. It had been a long time since I was up close and personal with a jazz group, so from the 5th row, watching Kamasi and the band trade measures was something to behold. There were some cool moments during some solos when Kamasi and trombonist Porter would talk on the side and coordinate their next horn part – Kamasi playing a little sample off-mic into Porter’s ear. Nods were exchanged, and they’d roll into that next horn part a few moments later.

Kamasi took some time to introduce some of the tunes. The intro I enjoyed most was his story behind “Asha the First.” Kamasi has a 3-year old daughter named – yep, Asha. He told the story of her love for playing around on the keyboards at home – at all hours of the early morning and day. Kamasi witnessed an epiphany for Asha one day when she figured out that she can go back to the same notes and repeat them. Kamasi then played a little sample on the keys of what she played that day. Five notes followed by a slightly different five notes, then repeated (and repeated). Kamasi recorded her that day, and turned her tune into “Asha the First.”

Another tune that resonated with me was the opener “Lesanu” – which Kamasi mentioned is a prayer in gratitude… to Music. I can relate, as can those of you who find yourself at this web site , or in the crowd at live shows. Music doesn’t hit everyone the same way. For people like Kamasi, myself, and probably you the reader, music is life itself. It’s woven into our DNA and our thoughts at every waking hour. 

The new record also features a cover of Zapp’s “Computer Love” – one of my favorite old school joints from the mid-80’s. Kamasi mentioned his admiration for late Zapp frontman Roger Troutman (I was lucky enough to see Roger & Zapp on that ‘Zapp IV’ tour way back then). Patrice Quinn did the female vocal honors (Shirley Murdock was the singer on the original), and DJ Battlecat was on the talk box. Great to hear!

“Interstellar Peace (the Last Stance)” was a journey out to the cosmos – written by keyboardist Brandon Coleman, Kamasi mentioned that he and Brandon share a love for all things space, and are buying up “bootleg rockets.”  In my quieter moments, I listen to a lot of ambient “space” music, so this was cool to hear. 

All in all, just a great night for a music lover. The Ikeda Theater is a beautiful venue. It was probably 40% full and I was sitting in the 5th row. There was room to sit back, stretch out, sip a little Maker’s Mark on the rocks, and just be surrounded and awash in amazing musical talent. 

Kamasi and band will play the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival on June 16th, and then, other than a couple of one offs, they have some time off until October, when they kick off their European tour.  See Kamasi and the band if you can!

• Kamasi Washington’s site. 
• The show on Setlist.fm. 
• My Flickr album from the show.