Kamasi Washington review: American jazz star thrills at Cork Opera House
Kamasi Washington on stage during his concert at Cork Opera House on Wednesday. Picture: David Creedon
★★★★☆
A jazz festival isn’t just for October. Almost six months after a back injury scuppered Kamasi Washington’s scheduled gig at the Guinness-sponsored music extravaganza in Cork, the American saxophonist finally took to the stage at the city’s Opera House. Over approximately two hours and nine expansive tunes, the 44-year-old showed why he’s considered one of the leading lights of the modern jazz scene.
To add to the attraction of the night for a Cork audience who often have to face a dearth of big gigs between the gluts of the October bank holiday and the summer arena offerings, opening act Emma-Jean Thackray also offered an impressive one-woman-band routine. The Leeds multi-instrumentalist gets filed under jazz, but she is obviously just as familiar with the club-based electronica that is such a big part of music culture in northern England.
Washington is also a man with feet in several camps. The Cork gig came between the 10-year anniversaries of two major milestones for the Californian. In March 2015, Kendrick Lamar released the ground-breaking album that featured Washington among the guest musicians. Two months later, the saxophonist made his own major breakthrough with an aptly-named album,
It was no surprise, then, amidst the seven-piece group who took to the stage with him in Cork was ace turntablist/producer Battlecat. The DJ flourishes provided some of the highlights of the night on such tunes – from the current album that made up the bulk of the set – and the thrilling encore take on Nas classic (a tune itself created by DJ Premier from old jazz samples).
Battlecat’s presence underlined how Washington’s music can bridge genres and eras. One moment we’re spacing out to spiritual jazz, complex and symphonic; next we’re nodding along to progressive hip-hop beats.
But it feels unfair to single out one member of the superb ensemble, not least as the group also included Rickey Washington, the main star’s father. Throughout the evening, Kamasi stepped aside to give all of his uber-talented comrades their moments in the spotlight as they let loose on tasty solos.
Among the other highlights in the set were – an interpretation of a tune by one of Washington’s favourite composers, Argentinian tango innovator Astor Pantaleón - and gorgeous opener The latter track had the band-leader speaking about the joy of being able to play and share music, a sentiment presumably reinforced by his recent back problems.
It’s not something we should take for granted, he implored. He's right, of course. And in Cork Opera House, this music felt like a real treat. Worth waiting for? Definitely.
