Kamasi Delivers In Detroit
by Bubz33 on 5/13/24Saint Andrew's Hall - DetroitRating: 5 out of 5Kamasi Washington hit St. Andrews Hall on Thursday, May 9. Spending some time before showtime mingling outside, the positive vibes of his world jazz sound were also part of his stature as he was near his fans.
His new album also dropped six days prior.
When the seven piece band took stage, there was energy from beyond the sound system. Also of note—the St . Andrew’s Hall sound system has never sounded better. A look around at the faces in awe, the smiles, dances, and serious staring, the audience was a melting pot of young, old, and of every imaginable nationality. Kamasi clearly brings the world together.
Musically, the fire from the stage was a feature for each player, while the selections were introduced (as well as soloists) by Kamasi himself. Harmony musical lines crossing Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax, Trombone, as well as keyboards, drums, bass and percussion/DJ, intermixed with a soul and state of mind, that not only drew lengthy solo sections, but body shaking DJ bass drops. A vocalist led the spiritual part of the ensemble from stage right—she was in her own realm and gave the evening a rich voice to tune into.
. Kamasi was laughing at his keyboard player, drummer, and bassist during portions of the evening as they went above and beyond into fantastic solo sections, mixing up the sound and pushing the music to outer levels. The percussionist/DJ also had his own portion of the evening.
All in all, the family-style band (sax/flutist was Kamasi’s father and was also effective in higher musical elevation) are at the top of their game and one of the only acts that can simultaneously rock the audience with jazz/world music/DJ/ spiritual latitudes. This music brings out the best in the players and in mixing the audience in a sonic hug. Kamasi took it to next levels.