Kamasi Washington’s plan for his Blue Note residency? ‘Play a bunch of really good music'

Saxophonist, bandleader and composer Kamasi Washington is a titan of jazz and also someone who works across genres and mediums. His interdisciplinary explorations include appearing in Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, collaborations with LACMA and The Whitney, and scoring Michelle Obama’s documentary Becoming, as well as the Adult Swim series Lazarus.  

Washington spoke with LAist ahead of his two-week residency at Blue Note LA.

A preview of Washington’s residency at Blue Note LA 

Jazz-cats can expect a wide range of music over the two weeks from pieces Washington hasn’t played in a while, to new songs and even some that haven't come out yet. He told LAist plainly, “The plan is to play a bunch of really good music.”

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And while Washington doesn't exactly “take requests,” Washington is open to suggestions, so you can head to his Instagram to offer an idea.

“ I always feel like the shows are like a mutual thing,” he said. “So every blue moon I'll put it out there and see if someone has something interesting that they wanted to hear that would pique my interest.”

Washington is performing at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. each night through Oct. 12, but don’t worry about the band getting tired for the second shows because there’s usually a second burst of creativity.

“You get to the later part of the night and you've kind of played everything that you can think of, so now you gotta try to tap into something that you couldn't think of,” he said.

Washington is known for collaborations, so expect a series of surprise guests. The only artist that has been announced is his collaborator and wife, singer-songwriter Ami Taf Ra. She is scheduled for the final night, Oct. 12, to perform music from her album, The Prophet and the Madman.

Washington on the L.A. Jazz Scene

Washington was born, raised and musically trained in Los Angeles and is still based here. His work with jazz contemporaries and fellow Angelenos in the West Coast Get Down brought a lot of visibility back to L.A., a city once known for its historic jazz scene.

“I always tell people, it's almost like 10 cities in one city,” said Washington. “So there's like a scene in Venice, in Downtown, in Hollywood, there's a scene in Inglewood now, and in the valley. There's just so much music kind of happening everywhere, it's really fun. There's so many great young musicians.”

The Blue Note Los Angeles

The legendary New York City jazz Club, Blue Note opened a Los Angeles location this past summer. 

Other artists scheduled to perform are Wyclef Jean, Samara Joy, Stanley Clarke, Aloe Blacc, Digable Planets, Terrace Martin, Saba, Bas, GZA of Wu Tang Clan, Kem, Take 6, Charlie Hunter, Immanuel Wilkins, The Bad Plus, Somi, MonoNeon and Eric Roberson.

Ticket info here.