Kamasi Washington for Jazz on 3, EFG London Jazz Festival and mini-doc movie
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The arrival of Los Angeles saxophonist Kamasi Washington with his enthralling triple debut album, The Epic (read Kevin Le Gendre’s review here), has been one of the stories in jazz this year – bringing him wide acclaim in his native US and a growing army of fans across the Atlantic.
Such has been the buzz generated by his emphatic triple-album that he and his eight-piece band are set to headline London’s Barbican on 14 November as part of this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival in what will be his UK debut performance. The concert will be a double bill presented by DJ Gilles Peterson and will also feature a appearance by GoGo Penguin who will be performing a special collaboration with dancers and choreographer Lynne Page.
Fans of his high-energy take on the spiritual jazz will be able to get a taste of what he and his band sounds like live when BBC Radio 3’s Jazz on 3 broadcast highlights from his equally epic four-hour album launch gig, which they recorded back on 4 May at the Regent Theater, LA – and will be broadcast on 7 September at 11pm on BBC Radio 3.
And as a little extra taster of this mammoth live outing, Jazzwise is pleased to present a clip from the launch night from filmmaker B+ (aka Brian Cross – and best known for his work with DJ Shadow and The Fugees) mini-documentary on Washington, which captures a flavour of the album launch gig, which you can watch below.
– Mike Flynn
For more info visit www.bbc.co.uk and www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk