Kamasi Washington On Black Lives Matter, Sneaking Into The Hollywood Bowl, Kendrick Lamar And More

The American saxophonist was recently in India for two shows in Mumbai and New Delhi

- David Britto

CATCHING UP WITH Kamasi Washington was as delightful as it could get. As much as the American tenor saxophonist loves bringing the house down with his incomparable skills – whether it’s working with rapper Kendrick Lamar or performing with legendary pianist Herbie Hancock – when you sit down with him he is soft-spoken, relaxed and exudes warmth and positivity.

After completing a North America tour run with Hancock, Washington was in India for the first time this past August to play two sold-out shows in the country along with his band, courtesy of Mumbai event and artist agency Third Culture.

We attended his Mumbai gig at The Royal Opera House where he performed tracks off albums such as The Epic and Heaven and Earth, putting on quite the stellar performance with sizzling sax solos accompanied by a thumping backing band which included his father Rickey on flute, bassist Miles Mosley, drummers Ronald Bruner Jr. and Tony Austin, trombone player Ryan Porter, pianist Mayasuki Hirano aka Big Yuki and vocalist Patrice Quinn.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Washington always had music around him because of his musician father Rickey. “I was kind of born into it,” he says. “I remember the first album I ever bought was an N.W.A. tape, I had to hide it from my parents because they wouldn’t let me have it,” the saxophonist says with a laugh. Since Washington had plenty of records at his house, he states that he went on to influence jazz to other kids in South Central L.A. He explains, “There was this one school where everybody was into The Jazz Messengers because I showed them that a Tribe Called Quest sample came from the Jazz Messengers and they just liked that.”