The only thing tougher for a 21st-century jazz musician than attaining crossover success is sustaining it. That’s the task that now occupies tenor saxophonist, bandleader and composer Kamasi Washington’s time and career. His 2015 triple-album smash The Epic — peaking at No. 3 on Billboard’s Jazz Albums chart, it’s a big hit by the standards of the jazz world — established him as a star. Washington is as well-known and respected within hip-hop and urban contemporary circles as he is with fans of hard bop, soul jazz, even the avant-garde.
The Epic featured Washington heading his 10-piece band plus special guests, neatly weaving multiple idiomatic elements into a compelling and personal presentation. It revealed him as a thoughtful soloist, alternately inventive and reflective, who neither shies away from intense, melodically challenging statements, nor feels obligated to overwhelm or overpower listeners with overly long or intricate compositions. While many published reviews were positive, the record also triggered a bit of backlash from some purists I’ve spoken with, who ignorantly questioned Washington’s credentials and credibility because he didn’t limit his collaborative choices — or restrict his compositional choices to the established jazz canon of bop, show tunes and hard-bop classics, augmented by acoustic-only originals.
But if Washington practiced that type of idiomatic conservatism, it would be a sign of betrayal rather than stylistic loyalty. His entire career has celebrated eclecticism, from his high school and college days playing big-band and mainstream jazz with greats like Kenny Burrell, Billy Higgins and Gerald Wilson, to his time working and playing with Nas, Snoop Dogg, Chaka Khan, Raphael Saadiq and Kendrick Lamar. He’s heir to a tradition that includes Charlie Parker honing his skills in Jay McShann’s big band, and John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman developing their signature sound in R&B and blues units.
Just as The Epic continually reflected Washington’s diverse background, his most recent album, Heaven and Earth — which he’ll be featuring during his return engagement in Nashville this week — pivots off it. The set is another conceptually intriguing production, a double-LP project that covers several thematic areas over two-and-a-half hours. There are tunes with prominent social justice themes, numbers that pay tribute to Washington’s influences, originals that update past styles, and songs that represent the closest he’ll come home to — to put it broadly, conventional jazz. All are done with the identical verve and ferocity that makes The Epic memorable, and once more he judiciously ensures that the spotlight gets shared with various band members as well as key contributors.
Highlights of Heaven and Earth include its opening track, a dynamic remake of “Fists of Fury,” the theme from Bruce Lee’s finest film, that features a blistering vocal by Patrice Quinn and edgy rhetorical statements. The band’s version of Freddie Hubbard’s classic work “Hub-Tones” is distinguished by superb trumpet contributions from Dontae Winslow. The same holds true on the numbers “Tiffakonkae,” and “Vi Lua Vi Sol.” Both are deeply influenced by ’70s and ’80s jazz fusion, though thankfully not as devoid of instrumental energy or distinction as a lot of current smooth jazz that draws from similar inspirations. Washington and trombonist Ryan Porter engage in darting, fiery dialogues on “The Psalmnist,” and Washington expertly frames his exuberant playing against a vocal choir on “Show Us the Way.”
If that’s not enough Washington for you, he also has a bonus EP available digitally called The Choice. It was also included as a surprise bonus disc when Heaven and Earth was initially released in June. The 40-minute collection has some solid material, including a nice remake of Carole King’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” plus “The Secret of Jinsinson,” another setting where Washington’s taut tenor is buttressed by a vocal choir as well as fine organ licks by Brandon Coleman. Still, Washington reserved his best material for Heaven and Earth.
The new album does more than just prove Washington didn’t exhaust his creative output with The Epic. It points the way to delivering even more exciting, decisive material in the future. And the commercial success it has enjoyed, hitting No. 1 on the Jazz Albums chart and even breaking into the mainstream Billboard 200, emphasizes that the message is resonating with more than just critics.
