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Apr 04, 2024 By Mark Redfern Photography by Vincent Haycock

Modern jazz icon Kamasi Washington is releasing a new album, Fearless Movement, on May 3 via Young. Now he has shared its third single, “Dream State,” which features André 3000, who plays flute. Watch the song’s video below, followed by Washington’s upcoming tour dates.

Last year, André 3000 released New Blue Sun, an instrumental album featuring his flute playing. He had this to say about the collaboration in a press release: “When you receive a text from a wind friend something beautiful usually transpires. The day Kamasi invited me to a session for Fearless Movement I was so geeked and honored. Now, every time we get together something interesting happens. We first played during a recording session for New Blue Sun and it’s been fruitful ever since.”

Washington had this to say: “‘Dream State’ is a celebration of life and the opportunity it gives us to explore new possibilities. We created this song together instantaneously as we improvised off the music we made in the moment. It was such an honor to work on this song with one of my heroes, the great André 3000. And what an amazing experience André 3000, Brandon Coleman, Tony Austin, Mono/Poly and I had gliding freely through this world of sound not knowing where we would end up, but joyful in the journey itself.”

Fearless Movement features “The Garden Path,” a new song he shared in 2022. The day after the song was shared, Washington performed it for the first time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which was also his TV debut. “The Garden Path” was one of our Songs of the Week. When the album was announced, Washington shared its second single, “Prologue,” via a music video. “Prologue” was one of our Songs of the Week.

Various musicians contribute vocals to Fearless Movement, including George Clinton, BJ The Chicago Kid, Inglewood rapper D-Smoke, and Taj and Ras Austin of Coast Contra (who are the twin sons of California rapper Ras Kass). The album also features regular collaborators Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Patrice Quinn, Brandon Coleman, and DJ Battlecat.

Washington says Fearless Movement is his dance album, but that doesn’t mean he’s switched to electronic music. “It’s not literal,” Washington says in a press release. “Dance is movement and expression, and in a way it’s the same thing as music—expressing your spirit through your body. That’s what this album is pushing.”

Another big influence on this album was the birth of Washington’s daughter a few years ago. She is even featured on the album in that she wrote the melody to the album’s “Asha the First” when she was first experimenting on the piano.

“Being a father means the horizon of your life all of a sudden shows up,” says Washington. “My mortality became more apparent to me, but also my immortality—realizing that my daughter is going to live on and see things that I’m never going to see. I had to become comfortable with this, and that affected the music that I was making.”

Washington’s last album was the acclaimed double album, Heaven and Earth, released in 2018. It was our #1 album of 2018. Read our 2018 cover story interview with Washington.

Washington was also one of the artists on the cover of our 20th Anniversary Issue (Issue 69).

He’s also in the supergroup Dinner Party, alongside Terrace Martin and Robert Glasper, and they released a new album, Enigmatic Society, in 2023.

Kamasi Washington Tour Dates:

May 4—New York, NY—Beacon Theatre
May 5—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer
May 7—Toronto, QC—History
May 8—Cincinnati, OH—Ludlow Garage
May 9—Detroit, MI—St. Andrews Hall
May 10—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall
May 11—Minneapolis, MN—Fitzgerald Theater
May 12—Omaha, NB—Slowdown
May 14—Houston, TX—House of Blues Houston
May 15—Dallas, TX—House of Blues Dallas
May 16—San Antonio, TX—Empire Theater
May 17—Austin, TX—Empire Garage
May 30—Vancouver, BC—Vogue
May 31—Seattle, WA—The Showbox
June 1—Eugene, OR—McDonald Theatre
June 2—Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom
June 5—Sacramento, CA—Crest Theatre
June 6—Monterey, CA—Golden State Theatre
June 7—San Francisco, CA—Warfield
June 8—Santa Cruz, CA—The Catalyst
June 9—San Diego, CA—Belly Up
June 11—Mesa, AZ—Mesa Arts Center
June 16—Los Angeles, CA—Hollywood Bowl Jazz Fest

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