Playlist: Kamasi Washington & the West Coast Get Down

This track is the centerpiece of Kamasi Washington's Harmony of Difference. The music stems from an ambitious conceptual art piece Washington created with his sister, painter Amani Washington, which debuted at The Whitney Biennial. The work explores counterpoint, with each track on the album serving as a variation on a handful of core melodies. These melodies ultimately converge in this towering composition. It’s an absolute masterpiece—one that gets my head nodding while tying knots in my throat every single time. 

Dinner Party is an all-star group featuring saxophonist Kamasi Washington, producer, saxophonist and keyboardist Terrace Martin, keyboardist Robert Glasper, DJ/producer 9th Wonder. "Freeze Tag" is soulful R&B inspired track off the group's 2020 debut EP, and it addresses police brutality in the Unted States and includes special guest vocalist Phoelix.  

Featuring special guest Kamasi Washington on saxophone, "We Change — Part 1" is a spacey cosmic jazz-funk track off on the 2022 full-length Interstellar Black Space. Coleman, who plays in Kamasi's band, is featured on keys and vocoder.  

A standout selection off of producer, saxophonist and keyboardist Terrace Martin's 2016 breakthrough album Velvet Portraits, "Valdez Off Crenshaw" is a laid-back soul jazz rendition of Donny Hathaway's "Valdez in the Country." 

Written as part of the soundtrack for Michelle Obama's Netflix documentary, "Song For Fraser" is a lyrical and soulful ballad that plays as Obama remembers her late father, Fraser Robinson III. While Kamasi is best known for his maximalist approach to arranging and large ensemble writing, "Song For Fraser" strips all of that away and showcases his beautiful sound and melodicism in its simplicity. 

Pianist and composer Cameron Graves is a bedrock part of the West Coast Get Down, contributing to work by fellow SoCal jazz travelers including Kamasi Washington, Ronald Bruner Jr., Miles Mosley, and others. His own work is a virtuoso blend of acoustic jazz and progressive rock that draws parallels to the music of the incredible Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan, but Graves follows his own muse. "Red," from his album Seven (2021), is a warp speed exploration of his approach featuring guitarist Colin Cook, bassist Max Gerl, and drummer Mike Mitchell.  

Another Kamasi Washington associate and founding Get Down member, trombonist Ryan Porter has led a tumultuous life that was the subject of the 2024 documentary film Resilience: The Story of Ryan Porter, tracing his path as a young artist beset by financial hardships and witnessing his peers' substance addictions. He's released four albums of excellent music including 2018's The Optimist, from which this track, "Strugglesville," is taken.  

Everyone eats on this one!  A great showcase for each individual player, the song blends soulful horn lines and West Coast Get Down’s signature rhythmic depth into a sun-drenched tribute that feels both grounded and transcendent. 

West Coast Get Down made a children's album in 2017 that goes way harder than it needs to. This track features the collective’s longtime vocalist Patrice Quinn. This song transforms a classic nursery rhyme into a lush, jazz-fusion tapestry, with Porter’s warm trombone leading a dreamlike ensemble featuring Kamasi Washington, Miles Mosley, and Patrice Quinn—blending childhood nostalgia with the soulful sophistication of the West Coast Get Down. 

Next gen West Coast Get Down, and one of the more recent releases from the collective. Ami Taf Ra’s ethereal vocals meet Brandon Coleman’s lush keyboard textures in a fusion of jazz, gospel, and psychedelic soul.