Simon Hale enjoys a night of musical excellence thanks to Kamasi Washington and a devoted audience.
With a tidal wave of drums, strings and reeds, Kamasi Washington and his six-strong band turned Birmingham’s O2 Institute 2 into a reverberating wall of sound.
Making his first-ever appearance in the city, the big bearded 36-year old Californian clad in a black dashile with tenor sax to the fore was the embodiment of his celebrated Epic album, not least in the opening number Change of the Guard in which a bright set of chords laid down by keyboardist Brandon Coleman exploded into a musical maelstrom.
In homage to America’s civil rights struggle, the track from an album so long that only six could be fitted into the set was mighty enough to warrant a Symphony Hall-size reception. It was the quieter sections that enabled you to appreciate at its best Washington’s mastery at mixing spiritual jazz, soul and gospel with funk, fusion and hip-hop.
As well as offering dizzying sax solos, he was generous enough to stand aside to let members of a band he had known so long that they were almost part of the family have their say.
Miles Moxley’s fingering on upright bass did some especially fast talking on Re Run, while trombonist Ryan Porter had the packed largely middle-aged audience swaying to Psalmness. Drummers Tony Austin and Ronal Bruner Jnr revelled in an infectious rhythmic conversation but it was Washington’s dad Rickey, “the man who taught me everything I know”, who had the biggest star turn.
Diminutive alongside his son, he laid down an exquisite melodic trail on soprano sax for Cherokee that led to some soaring vocals from a constantly sashaying Patrice Quinn. But the most moving part of the evening was Washington’s themed tribute to Malcolm X, the civil rights leader who came to Smethwick in 1965 in ethnic solidarity a week before he was shot dead in a New York ballroom.
