Kamasi Washington has announced his new album ‘Fearless Movement’ and has shared its lead single ‘Prologue’. Check it out below.
The cinematic track sees the Los Angeles jazz multi-instrumentalist create upbeat instrumentation featuring pounding drums and a glorious trumpet at the forefront. Directed by Washington’s longtime collaborator AG Rojas and choreographed by Samantha Blake Goodman, the single’s accompanying video sees a group of dancers dancing in a massive house.
Speaking about his forthcoming seventh album in a press release, Washington has referred to ‘Fearless Movement’ as his dance album. “It’s not literal. Dance is movement and expression, and in a way it’s the same thing as music—expressing your spirit through your body. That’s what this album is pushing,” he said.
The album also focuses on the everyday, an exploration of life on earth which was inspired by the birth of the musician’s first child a few years ago.
“Being a father means the horizon of your life all of a sudden shows up,” he added. “My mortality became more apparent to me, but also my immortality—realizing that my daughter is going to live on and see things that I’m never going to see. I had to become comfortable with this, and that affected the music that I was making.”
‘Fearless Movement’ also features the likes of André 3000 on flute, George Clinton, BJ The Chicago Kid, D-Smoke and Taj and Ras Austin of Coast Contra, Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Patrice Quinn, Brandon Coleman, DJ Battlecat and more. It also features his daughter who wrote the melody to ‘Asha The First’ during some of her first experimentations on the piano.
It features the song ‘The Garden Path’ which Washington performed for the first time ever in 2022 while making his late-night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The album is set for release on May 3 via Young and is available to pre-save/pre-order here.
Kamasi Washington ‘Fearless Movement’ track list is:
1. ‘Lesanu
2. ‘Asha The First (featuring Thundercat, Taj Austin, Ras Austin)’
3. ‘Computer Love (featuring Patrice Quinn, DJ Battlecat, Brandon Coleman)’
4. ‘The Visionary (featuring Terrace Martin)’
5. ‘Get Lit (featuring George Clinton, D Smoke)’
6. ‘Dream State (featuring André 3000)’
7. ‘Together (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid)’
8. ‘The Garden Path’
9. ‘Interstellar Peace (The Last Stance)’
10. ‘Road to Self (KO)’
11. ‘Lines in the Sand’
12. ‘Prologue’
Washington will also be embarking on a US tour in support of his album. The run of dates will kick off on May 4 at New York’s Beacon Theatre with further dates including Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, which he will co-curate with Herbie Hancock for the second year in a row, on June 16. Check out a full list of tour dates below and visit here for tickets.
Kamasi Washington 2024 US tour dates are:
MAY
4—New York, NY—Beacon Theatre
5—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer
7—Toronto, QC—History
8—Cincinnati, OH—Ludlow Garage
9—Detroit, MI—St. Andrews Hall
10—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall
11—St Paul, MN—Fitzgerald Theater
12—Omaha, NB—Slowdown
14—Houston, TX—House of Blues Houston
15—Dallas, TX—House of Blues Dallas
16—San Antonio, TX—Empire Theater
17—Austin, TX—Empire Garage
30—Vancouver, BC—The Vogue Theater
31—Seattle, WA—The Showbox
JUNE
1—Eugene, OR—McDonald Theatre
2—Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom
5—Sacramento, CA—Crest Theatre
6—Monterey, CA—Golden State Theatre
7—San Francisco, CA—Warfield
8—Santa Cruz, CA—The Catalyst
9—Solana Beach, CA—Belly Up
11—Mesa, AZ—Mesa Arts Center
16—Los Angeles, CA—Hollywood Bowl Jazz Fest
JULY
31—Alexandria, VA—The Birchmere