KAMASI WASHINGTON AND DIRECTOR JENN NKIRU DEBUT “GET LIT” SHORT FILM

STARRING SAUL WILLIAMS, PATRICE QUINN,

WASHINGTON, GEORGE CLINTON, D SMOKE: WILLOW SMITH, RAPHAEL SAADIQ, ROBERT GLASPER AND MORE ICONIC BLACK ARTISTS ALSO APPEAR

FEARLESS MOVEMENT OUT NOW TO CRITICAL ACCLAIM

Story: Ralph Greco, Jr.

Kamasi Washington and artist and director Jenn Nkiru debut the short film for “Get Lit” today, starring legendary musician Saul Williams, longtime bandmember Patrice Quinn and Washington himself, with appearances from funk icon George Clinton, Inglewood rapper D Smoke, Willow Smith, Raphael Saadiq, Robert Glasper and a number of others—watch it here.

The short film was shot in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Leimert Park where Washington developed his roots as a jazz musician. Washington and Nkiru previously collaborated on As Told To G/D Thyself, a short film companion to Washington’s 2018 album Heaven and Earth that debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival to widespread acclaim and features parts of the Nkiru-directed videos for album tracks “Fists of Fury” and “Hub-Tones.”

“Get Lit,” featuring George Clinton and D Smoke, is taken from Washington’s new album Fearless Movement, out now via Young to critical acclaim—get it here. The album features singles “Prologue” and “Dream State” with André 3000, as well as “The Garden Path,” a song Washington performed for the first time ever for his late-night television debut on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and other collaborations with Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Taj and Ras Austin of Coast Contra, Brandon Coleman, DJ Battlecat, Washington’s daughter Akili and more.

Fearless Movement continues to receive critical praise:

“Overall, it finds Washington, 43, adhering to his longstanding vision, presenting sprawling, eclectic tracks—12 in just shy of 90 minutes—that refute any notion of jazz as a cloistered musical zone and showcase the chemistry of his core musical crew, a decades-strong friend group that started taking shape in early childhood.”—The New York Times

“These days, Washington is one of the most ambitious bandleaders out there, and his playing is as forceful as his vision.”—The New Yorker

“The saxophone colossus of our time”—NPR

“Washington folds his own kind of dance record into his newest galaxy of mesmeric jazz.”—The Boston Globe

Washington recently completed an extensive North American tour in celebration of the new album that included stops in New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles for the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, which he co-curated with Herbie Hancock for the second year in a row. He will also perform at Newport Jazz Festival in August and tour Europe in the fall—see below for full tour routing.

Kamasi Washington is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader born and raised in Los Angeles. His three bodies of work to date—The Epic; Harmony of Difference, an EP originally commissioned for the 2017 Whitney Biennial; and Heaven and Earth—are among the most acclaimed of this century. In 2020, Washington scored the Michelle Obama documentary Becoming, earning Emmy and Grammy nominations for his work. Also in 2020, Washington co-founded the supergroup Dinner Party with longtime friends and collaborators Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and 9th Wonder—their EP Dinner Party (Dessert) was subsequently nominated for a Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album. In 2021, he contributed a cover of Metallica’s “My Friend of Misery” to the band’s Metallica Blacklist covers project. Washington has toured the world over and collaborated and shared stages with Kendrick Lamar, Florence + the Machine, Herbie Hancock and many more.

1. Lesanu

2. Asha The First (featuring Thundercat, Taj Austin, Ras Austin)

3. Computer Love (featuring Patrice Quinn, DJ Battlecat, Brandon Coleman)

4. The Visionary (featuring Terrace Martin)

5. Get Lit (featuring George Clinton, D Smoke)

6. Dream State (featuring André 3000)

7. Together (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid)

8. The Garden Path

9. Interstellar Peace (The Last Stance)

10. Road to Self (KO)

11. Lines in the Sand

12. Prologue

July 31—Alexandria, VA—The Birchmere

August 2—Newport, RI—Newport Jazz Festival

October 1—Athens, GR—Acropolis of Athens

October 3—Rome, IT—Roma Jazz Festival / Parco Della Música

October 4—Milan, IT—JAZZMI / Alcatraz

October 6—Barcelona, ES—Barcelona Jazz Festival / Razzmatazz

October 7—Madrid, ES—La Riviera

October 9—Lisbon, PT—Coliseu

October 10—Porto, PT—Hard Club

October 12—Bordeaux, FR—Rocher de Palmer

October 13—Paris, FR—Salle Pleyel

October 15—Manchester, UK—Albert Hall

October 16—London, UK—O2 Academy Brixton

October 17—Cardiff, UK—The Great Hall

October 20—Gateshead, UK—The Glasshouse

October 21—Leeds, UK—Project House

October 22—Glasgow, UK—Barrowland Ballroom

October 23—Dublin, IE—3Olympia Theatre

October 28—Brussels, BE—Bozar

October 29—Zurich, CH—X-TRA

October 31—Lausanne, CH—Jazz Onze+ / Les Docks

November 1—Bologna, IT—Estragon Club

November 3—Warsaw, PL—Stodola

November 4—Krakow, PL—Klub Studio

November 5—Brno, CZ—JAZZFESTBRNO / Sono Centrum

November 6—Munich, DE—Theaterfabrik

November 7—Cologne, DE—Carlswerk Victoria

November 9—Groningen, NL—Rockit / De Oosterpoort

November 10—Amsterdam, NL—Paradiso

November 11—Utrect, NL—TivoliVredenburg

November 13—Berlin, DE—Theater des Westens

November 15—Stockholm, SE—Fållan

November 16—Malmo, SE—Moriska Paviljongen

November 17—Oslo, NO—Den Norske Opera

Ralph Greco, Jr. is the devilishly clever nom de plume of professional writer/musician Ralph Greco who lives in the wilds of suburban New Jersey. He is also a podcast co-host, but as everyone has a podcast these days, this fact is of very little consequence.Ralph can be reached by writing ralphiedawriter@gmail.com