To say that jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington is a fan of Los Angeles is an understatement. “I love how big L.A.
is and how it’s like 10 different cities in one,” said the Grammy-nominated Washington, who released his third full-length album, “Fearless Movement,” earlier this year. “I love how you can kind of go and immerse yourself into almost any culture you can think of.” A native Angeleno, Washington grew up in South L.
A., attended Hamilton High School on the Westside, and earned a degree in ethnomusicology from UCLA. As an undergraduate, he toured with rap superstar Snoop Dogg, a reflection of Washington’s immense musical talent and a harbinger of good things to come.
Only in L.A. After college, Washington and several of his closest friends, including bassist Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner, drummer Ronald Bruner Jr.
, pianist Cameron Graves, trombonist Ryan Porter , and multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin , among others, began performing weekly at the Piano Bar in Hollywood, an engagement that lasted several years. The collective, known as the West Coast Get Down, helped revive the formerly moribund L.A.
jazz scene and created a pipeline of young talent. Some group members, including Washington, went on to play on rapper Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 classic “To Pimp a Butterfly.” To this day, the friends often tour together and appear on one another’s albums.
The rare jazz artist with crossover appeal, Washington has played Coachella and Bonnaroo, aver.