Just when you thought Kamasi Washington couldn’t top his aptly titled triple LP The Epic, the saxophonist/cosmic jazz composer has wrapped a two-and-a-half-hour double album called Heaven and Earth. Due out June 22nd through Young Turks, it features contributions band from Washington’s band The Next Step and his longtime LA collective The West Coast Get Down.
“‘The world that my mind lives in, lives in my mind’,” Washington wrote in a press release. “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.”
Check out video clips for the songs “Fists of Fury” and “The Space Travelers Lullaby” below—as directed by Jenn Nkiru—below, along with a complete rundown of the record, full Spotify streams, and a hefty stack of tour dates that’ll keep Washington busy throughout the spring, summer and fall….
Heaven and Earth
(Young Turks, June 22nd)
I. EARTH
1. Fists of Fury
2. Can You Hear Him
3. Hubtones
4. Connections
5. Tiffakonkae
6. The Invincible Youth
7. Testify
8. One of One
II. HEAVEN
9. The Space Travelers Lullaby
10. Vi Lua Vi Sol
11. Street Fighter Mas
12. Song for the Fallen
13. Journey
14. The Psalmnist
15. Show Us the Way
16. Will You Sing
4/15 Indio, CA – Coachella Music and Arts Festival
4/22 Indio, CA – Coachella Music and Arts Festival
4/27 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheater *
5/2 London, UK – Roundhouse
5/4 Manchester, UK – Albert Hall
5/5 Glasgow, UK – QMU
5/6 Cheltenham, UK – Cheltenham Jazz Festival
5/8 Lyon, France – Nuits Sonores @ Auditorium de Lyon
5/9 Paris, France – Bataclan
5/11 Coutances, France – Jazz Sous les Pommiers @ Salle Marcel Hélie
5/12 St Gaudens, France – Festival Jazz a Comminges @ Parc des Expositions
5/13 Madrid, Spain – Riviera
5/14 Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz
5/16 Milan, Italy – Santeria Social Club
5/17 Zurich, Switzerland – Kaufleuten Zurich
5/18 Munich, Germany – Theaterfabrik
5/19 Vienna, Austria – Wiener Konzerthaus
5/20 Diersbach, Austria – INNtone JazzFestival
5/22 Krakow, Poland – Studio
5/23 Prague, Czech Republic – Arhca Theatre
5/24 Warsaw, Poland – Stodola
5/25 Berlin, Germany – Astra
5/27 Cologne, Germany – Live Music Hall
5/28 Nijmegen, Holland – Doornroosje
5/29 The Hague, Holland – Paard
5/30 Brussels, Belgium – Salle De La Madeleine
6/1 Amsterdam, Holland – Paradiso
6/2 Hamburg, Germany – Elbjazz Festival
6/3 Copenhagen, Denmark – Pumpehuset
6/15 New York, NY – Forest Hills Stadium †
6/16 Minneapolis, MN – Rock the Garden
6/23 Pasadena, CA – Arroyo Seco
6/24 Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
6/25 Saskatoon, SK – Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
6/29 Waitsfield, VT – Friendly Gathering
6/30 Montreal, Quebec – Festival International de Jazz de Montreal
7/12 Berkeley, CA- Greek Theater ‡
7/25 Detroit, MI – Chene Park Amphitheater
8/4 Dublin, Ireland – Beatyard Festival
8/5 – Oxfordshire, UK – Wilderness Festival
8/7 Mainz, Germany – Frankfurter Hof Mainz @ Zitadelle Mainz
8/9 Antwerp, Belgium – Jazz Middelheim
8/10 Copenhagen, Denmark – HAVEN
8/11 Gothenburg, Sweden – Way Out West
8/12 Helsinki, Finland – FLOW
8/17-19 Tokyo, Japan – Summer Sonic Festival
10/17 Seattle, WA – The Showbox
10/18 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
10/19 San Francisco, CA – TBA
10/20 San Luis Obispo, CA – Fremont Theater
10/22 Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf
10/24 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
10/25 Aspen, CO – Belly Up
10/26 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
10/27 Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
10/29 Kansas City, MO – The Truman
10/31 Iowa City, IA – The Englert Theatre
11/1 Minneapolis, MN – TBA
11/2 Madison, WI – TBA
11/3 Chicago, IL -Riviera Theatre
11/5 Toronto, CA – Sony Centre for The Performing Arts
11/7 Portland, ME – State Theatre
11/8 Boston, MA – Royale
11/9 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
11/10 Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
11/14 Richmond, VA – The National
11/15 Raleigh, NC -The Ritz
11/16 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
11/17 Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
* with Vulfpeck
† with Alt-J
