kamasi washington at central park, summerstage 2016 - NYC, jun 18
- photography by Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas
Saturday, June 18th, was another day to celebrate music at Central Park.
Three dissimilar concerts were announced for this evening event produced by the SummerStage in partnership with the Blue Note Jazz Festival.
If DJ Natasha Diggs of Soul in the Horn didn’t succeed in her efforts to make the audience move their feet, the 21-year-old Londoner, Jacob Collier, was observed with some passivity in his lukewarm solo performance. He sang and played multiple instruments, but unfortunately didn’t touch the hearts of the New Yorkers whose majority was there to see the headliner saxophonist Kamasi Washington.
Kamasi and his band didn’t disappoint, bringing all his energy and passion onto the stage, and spreading that danceable and soulful music all over the park.
After addressing the audience with: ‘we’re gonna have some fun and play some music’, he opens with “Change of the Guard”, the gritty first tune of his acclaimed debut studio album “Epic”. A wha-wha funky groove was proclaimed throughout the modal chords to welcome Kamasi’s haunting solo, as well as the adventures of the bassist Miles Mosley who plunged in a bowing extravaganza rendered with an unusual sound effect.
A more soothing atmosphere was achieved with Debussy’s beautiful piece “Claire De Lune”, which featured an extended yet self-assured improvisation by the keyboardist Brandon Coleman, owner of a futuristic sound.
A brand new tune was introduced next. It was composed by the trombonist Ryan Porter and evinced the same propelling rhythms and swift melodic threads imbued of jazz, funk, and soul. After Kamasi’s in and out improvisation, we could hear Tony Austin’s first drum solo of the show.
“Henrietta, Our Hero” is a nostalgic song composed by Kamasi with lyrics by the vocalist Patrice Quinn, who sang it with lush tones. The song pays an homage to the saxophonist’s grandmother, and they counted on the first guest of the night, Kamasi's father Rickey Washington on soprano saxophone, to perform this spiraling piece that erupts straight from the heart.
The incisive “Re-Run” is delivered with some stagnancy at first, yet soon departs for compulsive, happy beats, an exuberant harmonic work, and impressive solos by the leader, who clearly excels, then the young trumpeter Igmar Thomas (second guest) whose boppish approach is as agreeable as it is flammable, and finally the thunderous Ronald Bruner Jr., one of the two drummers at service.
The soaring voice of Quinn takes the lead in “The Rhythm Changes”, a half-wishful half-buoyant tune, in which she sings ‘our love, our beauty, our genius / our work, our triumph, our glory / won't worry what happened before me / I'm here!’.
Under these lines, Kamasi Washington says goodbye: ‘NY, thanks for showing me so much love’ and leaves the stage. Everybody starts clapping, begging for one more, and he repays the love showed to him with a euphoric encore where John Coltrane meets Eddie Harris, and the soul finds his way to elation.
Mr. Washington showed why he’s the new big thing in the vast world of jazz.