Kamasi Washington
Washington in 2017
Background information
Born	Kamasi Tii Washington (1981-02-18)February 18, 1981 (age 44) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Tenor saxophone
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Young XL Brainfeeder
Member of	West Coast Get Down Dinner Party
Website	kamasiwashington.com

Kamasi Tii Washington (born February 18, 1981) is an Americanarranger,composer andjazzsaxophonist.^[1] He is a founding member of the jazzcollectiveWest Coast Get Down.^[2]

Washington was born in 1981 and raised inLos Angeles, California.^[2][3] He is a graduate of the Academy of Music ofAlexander Hamilton High School inBeverlywood, Los Angeles.^[1] Washington next enrolled inUCLA's Department ofEthnomusicology, where he began playing with faculty members such asKenny Burrell,Gerald Wilson, andBilly Higgins, who mentored a quartet with Washington, pianist Cameron Graves, and the brothersStephen ("Thundercat") andRonald Bruner. They released their debut albumYoung Jazz Giants in 2004 onBirdman Records.^[4][5]

Washington joined theGerald Wilson Orchestra for its 2005 albumIn My Time.^[6] In 2008 and 2009 "The Kamasi Washington Band" played the outdoor Labor Day Jazz Concert on the Main Green atVillage Green, Los Angeles.^[7][8] Washington played saxophone onKendrick Lamar's albumTo Pimp a Butterfly,^[9] released on March 15, 2015. Washington's debut solo recording,The Epic, was released in May 2015.^[10] Washington contributed saxophone on the Thundercat song "Them Changes", which was released on June 18, 2015, as a single from the EPThe Beyond / Where the Giants Roam;^[11][12] the track was later included on Thundercat's full-length albumDrunk (2017).

Washington released the mini-album/EPHarmony of Difference in September 2017. This was followed by his second full-length studio album,Heaven and Earth, which was released in June 2018, with a companion EP titledThe Choice released a week later.

Washington has played along with a diverse group of musicians includingWayne Shorter,Herbie Hancock,Horace Tapscott,Lauryn Hill,Nas,Snoop Dogg,^[13]George Duke,Chaka Khan,Flying Lotus,Mike Muir,Francisco Aguabella,St. Vincent, the Pan Afrikaan People's Orchestra,Run the Jewels andRaphael Saadiq.

On June 25, 2020, Washington,Terrace Martin,Robert Glasper, and9th Wonder announced the formation of the supergroup Dinner Party. They released a single, "Freeze Tag", and their debut extended play,Dinner Party, was released on July 10, 2020.^[14]

On June 18, 2021, Washington released a new song "Sun Kissed Child" as part ofThe Undefeated'sMusic for the Movement series.^[15] Also in 2021, Washington and his band contributed a cover of the Metallica song "My Friend of Misery" to the charity tribute albumThe Metallica Blacklist.^[16]

On July 4, 2024, Kendrick Lamar released the music video for "Not Like Us". In the video, there was a snippet that played in the beginning of the video (later revealed to be "Squabble Up"). In the song, Kendrick mentions Washington in the line "High key; keep a horn on me, that Kamasi".

Washington, along withBonobo andFloating Points, composed music for the 2025 Japanese anime television seriesLazarus, directed byShinichirō Watanabe.^[17]

Studio albums

• Young Jazz Giants (with Cameron Graves,Stephen Bruner, &Ronald Bruner Jr.) (Birdman, 2004)
• Live at 5th Street Dick's (self-released, 2005)
• The Proclamation (self-released, 2007)
• Light of the World (self-released, 2008)
• The Epic (Brainfeeder, 2015)^[34][35]
• Heaven and Earth (Young, 2018)^[36]
• Fearless Movement (Young, 2024)

EPs

• Harmony of Difference (Young, 2017)^[37]
• The Choice (Young, 2018)
• Becoming – Music from the Netflix Original Documentary (Young, 2020)
• Dinner Party withRobert Glasper,Terrace Martin,9th Wonder (Sounds of Crenshaw/Empire, 2020)
• Enigmatic Society with Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, 9th Wonder (Sounds of Crenshaw/Empire, 2023)

WithThrottle Elevator Music

• Throttle Elevator Music (Wide Hive, 2012)
• Area J (Wide Hive, 2014)
• Jagged Rocks (Wide Hive, 2015)
• Throttle Elevator Music IV (Wide Hive, 2016)
• Retrorespective (Wide Hive, 2017)
• Emergency Exit (Wide Hive, 2020)
• Final Floor (Wide Hive, 2021)

Soundtrack albums

• Lazarus (Adult Swim Original Series Soundtrack) (Milan, 2025)^[38]

• Gold byRyan Adams — on "New York, New York" and "Touch, Feel & Lose" (Lost Highway, 2001)
• Blackberry Belle byThe Twilight Singers (One Little Indian, 2003)
• R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece bySnoop Dogg — on "No Thang On Me" (Geffen/Star Trak/Doggy Style, 2004)
• Searching for Jerry Garcia byProof — on "Pimplikeness" (Iron Fist Records, 2005)
• Something Else
• Ego Trippin' bySnoop Dogg — on "Press Play" (Geffen/Doggy Style, 2008)
• The Golden Age of Apocalypse byThundercat – on "Is It Love?" (Brainfeeder, 2011)
• Perseverance byPhil Ranelin (Wide Hive, 2011)
• DreamWeaver byGeorge Duke – on "Stones of Orion," "Trippin'," "Ashtray," "Ball & Chain" (withTeena Marie), and "Burnt Sausage Jam" (Heads Up, 2013)
• Chameleon byHarvey Mason – on "Black Frost" (Concord, 2014)
• Up byStanley Clarke – on "I Have Something to Tell You Tonight" (Mack Avenue, 2014)
• You're Dead! byFlying Lotus (Warp, 2014)
• To Pimp a Butterfly byKendrick Lamar – saxophone on "u", string arrangement for "Mortal Man" (Aftermath/Interscope, 2015)
• The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam by Thundercat (Brainfeeder, 2015)
• Run the Jewels 3 byRun the Jewels – on "Thursday in the Danger Room" (Mass Appeal/RED, 2016)
• Drunk by Thundercat (Brainfeeder, 2017)
• Damn by Kendrick Lamar – strings on "Lust" (Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope, 2017)
• Ash byIbeyi – on "Deathless" (XL, 2017)
• Masseduction bySt. Vincent – on "Pills" (Loma Vista, 2017)
• Alone byCory Henry – on "Operation Funk" (Culture Collective, 2022)
• No Excuses byChildish Gambino – on "Bando Stone and The New World" (Rolling Stone, 2024)
• GNX by Kendrick Lamar

With theGerald Wilson Orchestra

• In My Time (Mack Avenue, 2005)
• Monterey Moods (Mack Avenue, 2007)
• Detroit (Mack Avenue, 2009)
• Legacy (Mack Avenue, 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKamasi Washington.

• Official website
• Kamasi Washington atAllMusic
• Kamasi Washington onBandcamp
• Kamasi Washington discography atDiscogs
• Kamasi Washington discography atMusicBrainz

• 1981 births
• Living people
• Jazz musicians from California
• Musicians from Los Angeles
• 21st-century American male musicians
• 21st-century American saxophonists
• African-American jazz musicians
• American jazz saxophonists
• American male saxophonists
• Brainfeeder artists
• American male jazz musicians
• XL Recordings artists
• 21st-century African-American musicians
• 20th-century African-American musicians
• Spiritual jazz musicians
• West Coast Get Down members
• Young (record label) artists

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• Short description matches Wikidata
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