Jazz superstar Kamasi Washington has heralded the announcement of his second album Heaven and Earth, set for release on June 22nd via Young Turks, by releasing two tracks – Fists of Fury and The Space Travelers. The long-awaited follow up to Washington’s debut The Epic, Heaven and Earth is comprised of two halves, which find Washington confronting quotidian realities with cosmic themes. A further investigation of Washington’s world building ideas, the new album explores his reckoning with current global chaos and his vision for the future. Kamasi says of the project
“The world that my mind lives in, lives in my mind.” This idea inspired me to make this album Heaven and Earth. The reality we experience is a mere creation of our consciousness, but our consciousness creates this reality based on those very same experiences. We are simultaneously the creators of our personal universe and creations of our personal universe. The Earth side of this album represents the world as I see it outwardly, the world that I am a part of. The Heaven side of this album represents the world as I see it inwardly, the world that is a part of me. Who I am and the choices I make lie somewhere in between.”
Kamasi Washington
Washington convened his band, The Next Step, as well as members of the long running collective The West Coast Get Down at Henson Studios in Los Angeles to record the 16 tracks on Heaven and Earth. The music was composed, written and arranged by Washington, with new arrangements of jazz and bebop legend Freddie Hubbard’s “Hubtones” and iconic kung fu film theme “Fists of Fury,” as well as one song by bandmate Ryan Porter. Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Ronald Bruner, Jr., Cameron Graves, Brandon Coleman, Miles Mosley, Patrice Quinn, Tony Austin and many more contribute to the album.
Fists of Fury, taken from the Earth side of the record, is a nine minute epic soul jazz classic, taking the Kung-Fu movie soundtrack, showing it the Rocky music and dragging it through a gospel soul filter, throwing in some incredible piano and saxophone work along the way.
The Space Travellers is much more laid back and gospel soul influenced. If ever there were to be a remake of Moonraker, then any sort of floating in space passages would be perfectly soundtracked by this. String-heavy, the Saxophone intersperses these long, sweeping lines. As it unfurls though, so it begins to drive and these piano lines start to catch fire, soon joined by the whole ensemble. Incredible stuff.
Check it out, here
The rich visual contextualisations are inspired by a more expansive collaborative Heaven and Earth film project that is due for release later in the year.
Watch Jenn Nkiru’s “Fists Of Fury” scene HERE and her “Space Travelers Lullaby” scene HERE
Heaven and Earth, over two and a half hours of music, will be available on double deluxe CD and a four piece vinyl housed in bespoke double gatefold sleeve, in addition to all digital services. The album is available to pre-order via http://y-t-r.co/heavenandearth
To celebrate the release of Heaven and Earth, Washington will tour globally. All the dates are listed below with full details available via https://www.kamasiwashington.com/tour/
KAMASI WASHINGTON LIVE
April
Sun 15 – Indio, CA – Coachella Music and Arts Festival
Sun 22 – Indio, CA – Coachella Music and Arts Festival
Fri 27 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheater
May
Wed 02 – London, UK – Roundhouse
Fri 04 – Manchester, UK- Albert Hall
Sat 05 – Glasgow, UK – QMU
Sun 06 – Cheltenham, UK – Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Tue 08 – Lyon, France – Nuits Sonores @ Auditorium de Lyon
Wed 09 – Paris, France – Bataclan
Fri 11 – Coutances, France – Jazz Sous les Pommiers @ Salle Marcel Hélie
Sat 12 – St Gaudens, France – Festival Jazz a Comminges @ Parc des Expositions
Sun 13 – Madrid, Spain – Riviera
Mon 14 – Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz
Wed 16 – Milan, Italy – Santeria Social Club
Thu 17 – Zurich, Switzerland – Kaufleuten Zurich
Fri 18 – Munich, Germany – Theaterfabrik
Sat 19 – Vienna, Austria – Wiener Konzerthaus
Sun 20 – Diersbach, Austria – INNtone JazzFestival
Tue 22 – Krakow, Poland – Studio
Wed 23 – Prague, Czech Republic – Arhca Theatre
Thu 24 – Warsaw, Poland – Stodola
Fri 25 – Berlin, Germany – Astra
Sun 27 – Cologne, German – Live Music Hall
Mon 28 – Nijmegen, Holland – Doornroosje
Tue 29 – The Hague, Holland – Paard
Wed 30 – Brussels, Belgium – Salle De La Madeleine
June
Fri 01 – Amsterdam, Holland – Paradiso
Sat 02 – Hamburg, Germany – Elbjazz Festival
Sun 03 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Pumpehuset
Fri 15 – New York, NY – Forest Hills Stadium (w/Alt-J)
Sat 16 – Minneapolis, MN – Rock the Garden
Sat 23 – Pasadena, CA – Arroyo Seco
Fri 29 – Waitsfield, VT – Friendly Gathering
Sat 30 – Montreal, Quebec – Festival International de Jazz de Montreal
July
Thu 12 – Berkley, CA – Greek Theater (w/Sylvan Esso)
Wed 25 – Detroit, MI – Chene Park Amphitheater
August
Sat 04 – Dublin, Ireland – Beatyard Festival
Sun 05 – Oxfordshire, UK – Wilderness Festival
Tue 07 – Mainz, Germany – Frankfurter Hof Mainz @ Zitadelle Mainz
Thu 09 – Antwerp, Belgium – Jazz Middelheim
Fri 10 – Copenhagen, Denmark – HAVEN
Sat 11 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Way Out West
Sun 12 – Helsinki, Finland – FLOW
Sat 18 – Tokyo, Japan – Summer Sonic Festival
October
Wed 17 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
Thu 18 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
Fri 19 – San Francisco, CA
Sat 20 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Fremont Theater
Mon 22 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf
Wed 24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Grand Room @ The Complex
Thu 25 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up
Fri 26 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
Sat 27 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
Mon 29 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman
Tue 31 – Iowa City, IA – The Englert Theater
November
Thu 01 – Minneapolis, MN
Fri 02 – Madison, WI
Sat 03 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
Mon 05 – Toronto, CA – Sony Centre
Wed 07 – Portland, ME – The State Theatre
Thu 08 – Boston, MA – The Royale
Fri 09 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
Sat 10 – Washington D.C. – Lincoln Theatre
Wed 14 – Richmond, VA – The National
Thu 15 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
Fri 16 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
Sat 17 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
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