My dad was really into avant garde jazz: Archie Shepp, John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. — Kamasi Washington Archie Copy Share Image
'Harmony of Difference,' to me, was an opportunity to celebrate one another. And 'Fists of Fury' is an opportunity for us to… — Kamasi Washington Anger Copy Share Image
I think people psych themselves out before they listen to jazz a lot, thinking that they have to, like, put on a… — Kamasi Washington Jazz Copy Share Image
I don't want to live my life to necessarily overcome struggle, but when I am going to hit struggle throughout my life,… — Kamasi Washington Adversity Copy Share Image
Isaac Smith sounded like Curtis Fuller, Corey Hogan sounded like Sonny Rollins, Terrace Martin sounded like Jackie McLean. Already, at 13, 14, 15 years old. — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
My hope is that witnessing the beautiful harmony created by merging different musical melodies will help people realize the beauty in our… — Kamasi Washington Beautiful Copy Share Image
This precious thing of empathy and love and understanding is something we have to hold and appreciate and protect. — Kamasi Washington Empathy Copy Share Image
Fela Kuti blew my mind. His playing is very unorthodox, but I learned how to appreciate that. — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
The idea of the beauty of diversity came from just growing up where I grew up. Los Angeles is a very big… — Kamasi Washington Beauty Copy Share Image
Every day we're here is an opportunity to do what we can to make the world right, to help someone close or… — Kamasi Washington Day Copy Share Image
My third day playing saxophone, I was in front of a congregation. I still didn't know the names of all the notes.… — Kamasi Washington Day Copy Share Image
Jazz is an interesting music. It's one of the few forms of music where everyone that's performing the music has a creative… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
I used to tell my friends, 'Art Blakey is way more gangster than Eazy-E!' I ended up getting my friends into jazz,… — Kamasi Washington Art Copy Share Image
All forms are complex once you get to a really high level, and jazz and hip-hop are so connected. In hip-hop, you… — Kamasi Washington Broadway Copy Share Image
Even the greatest musicians, they only represent themselves. You represent who you are and what your experiences are and what you have… — Kamasi Washington Heart Copy Share Image
Becoming a musician is a strange thing. It's not all cupcakes and ice cream. You're trying to master an instrument, and you… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
I think the reason why I see life as this never-ending struggle is because I imagine it having endless potential. — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
There's this notion that music has to be confined to some small, simple place to be popular, something I never believed. — Kamasi Washington Music Copy Share Image
I like living on that edge, musically. I like a bit of insecurity and that feeling of not really knowing what's going… — Kamasi Washington Edge Copy Share Image
I can't really worry about nuclear war any more than I can worry about the aliens coming. — Kamasi Washington Fear Copy Share Image
Someone like Donald Trump can't control the way I show love to my brother. He can't control the way I feel about… — Kamasi Washington Brother Copy Share Image
There's a deeper level of healing that needs to happen for the world in general. There's a mass of people who are… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
The musicians I really looked up to as a kid were the ones who could play everything. — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
By the time I was about 15, I was out playing gigs and knew I was going to be a musician. — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
At a certain point, when there's a barrier between you and what's right, eventually you have to decide you're not going to… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
I started playing drums at three, then piano at five, then clarinet. But it wasn't till I picked up a saxophone aged… — Kamasi Washington Drums Copy Share Image
I started playing with this band, the Polyester Players. It was my introduction into funk. So I went and got a James… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
What fixes your spirit when Ferguson happens? When Trayvon Martin and those kind of things happen, they hurt your spirit; it hurts… — Kamasi Washington Heart Copy Share Image
West Coast hip hop was the sound of my neighbourhood. It was something I could relate to because it had a sound… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
We've now got a whole generation of jazz musicians who have been brought up with hip-hop. We've grown up alongside rappers and… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
Malcolm X's separatist ideas were situational. If you think about where African-Americans were in the 1940s and 1950s, we needed to step… — Kamasi Washington Clarity Copy Share Image
When I was working on 'To Pimp A Butterfly' and 'DAMN.,' I'm really making music for Kendrick. It's a different mindset than… — Kamasi Washington Butterfly Copy Share Image
When I was younger... we used to go to this place called Rexall to play 'Street Fighter.' At Rexall, there would be… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
As a musician, your instrument is almost predetermined. I had played drums, piano, clarinet, but when I heard Wayne Shorter play the… — Kamasi Washington Drums Copy Share Image
If you asked people, "Do you like jazz?" they would be like, "not at all." But I think that if you're really… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
You have to dig deep to make great music, and it gets harder and harder. It's a difficult, painful process to reach… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
We started 'Heaven And Earth' in 2016. That was probably the heaviest touring year of my whole life. We probably did almost… — Kamasi Washington Earth Copy Share Image
Every time you learn a new language, your understanding of language overall grows, so every time I would learn new music, my… — Kamasi Washington Direction Copy Share Image
The thing about hip-hop is, like, that the instruments were taken out of schools. But - you might have taken the instruments… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
This notion that I was somehow special and deserving of a more involved education was wrong.I was smart at taking tests, but… — Kamasi Washington Copy Share Image
