Kamasi Washington is the kind of man who brings jazz into the new age, utilising unusual riffs and instrumentation to add on to his preexisting body of work.

Let’s start with a caveat: I’m not a jazz person and can’t recognise the specific technicalities that go into jazz, but if anything, the crowd at capitol theatre was buzzing as they gathered before the show. It was an interesting mixed crowd, with local musicians, expats, visitors and people who had come after work on a Thursday night to catch this jazz icon – there were even younger audience members in the crowd, some clutching vinyls of his album Fearless Movement.

There was palpable whispering and excitement in the crowd, and no nonsense, Kamasi came right out on time at 8.15pm and the crowd cheers. It starts slow, as if they’re warming up, and you can see the crowd slowly but surely getting into it. You take your time to notice his members – Patrice quinn on vocals, DJ battlecat on the turntables, Ronald Bruner Jr. on drums, miles Mosley on the double bass, and casually – the legendary Ryan Porter on trombone. 

Kamasi on sax is obviously the highlight – dressed in a loose, patchwork outfit he ‘s even played for stars like Kendrick Lamar. And well he impresses with how the sax stands out and he gets solos. He’s very personable, talking about the power and beauty of music – he’s a real artist, how his own daughter discovers being able to control a piano for the first time and playing the same melody over and over, and him composing a song out of it. Things really start getting good when he starts bantering with the crowd, talking about how they did the theme song for Lazarus by shinichiro Watanabe, knowing for cowboy bebop and his jazz tunes are a worthy for his universe. 

It keeps going from there, (might want to mention some Kamasi songs even though I don’t know them) – and things come to a head when each band member is given a solo – first Patrice, then Ronald, then di battlecat, and then wow miles on the double bass is incredible, knows exactly how to rev up the crowd whe pace it’s building uo so much anticipation and excitement each time he plucks at the massive double bass, wnd of course the crowd goes wild for Ryan on trombone.

By now the groove is grooving, the atmosphere is pumping and you can see people really swinging and bopping to the music. We are entranced, we are in the zone, and every song that comes after, we get why he’s so famous, and why he knows his stuff. Incredible night, makes me want to find out more about jazz and just amazed at how music transcends the soul and brings peoooe together. 

This is the synopsis:

The modern icon of jazz, Kamasi Washington, returns to Singapore with his explosive 8-piece band after a sold out show in 2018.

A true visionary, Kamasi has redefined what jazz can be — blending spiritual jazz, hip-hop, funk, soul, and classical into an epic, genre-defying sound. He’s worked with Kendrick Lamar (To Pimp A Butterfly), Flying Lotus, Herbie Hancock, and even scored Michelle Obama’s documentary Becoming.

Now, he brings the heat of his 2024 album Fearless Movement, a bold, dance-infused record that takes his signature cosmic sound into new territory. Featuring collaborators like André 3000, Thundercat, George Clinton, and BJ the Chicago Kid, the album has been praised as “a celebration of rhythm, rebellion, and radical joy.” On stage, these songs come to life with fire, soul, and transcendental power.

Kamasi’s live performances are rituals — deeply moving, spiritually charged, and musically explosive. His last Singapore show sold out fast, and fans have been waiting ever since for his return.

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Kamasi Washington doesn’t just play jazz. He bends it, expands it, and sends it into orbit. Backed by a tight 5-piece band, the saxophonist and modern jazz icon returned to Singapore’s Capitol Theatre with the kind of performance that felt less like a concert and more like a cosmic ritual.

Let’s be clear: I’m not a jazz head. I can’t name every obscure standard or decode the more complex rhythmic shifts. But that didn’t matter, the crowd didn’t care, and neither did Kamasi. If anything, his show was a testament to how music, at its best, transcends knowledge and speaks directly to the body and soul.

The theatre buzzed with energy long before the lights dimmed. It was a diverse, eclectic crowd: local musicians, expats, after-work jazz dabblers, and younger fans clutching vinyl copies of his new album Fearless Movement. And when Kamasi and his band took the stage right on time at 8:15pm, there was no dramatic build-up, no gimmick. Just a collective exhale from the audience before lift-off.

Things began with a slow, almost meditative groove, like a musical deep breath, giving us time to settle in and take stock of the ensemble. Patrice Quinn, a magnetic presence on vocals; DJ Battlecat on turntables, subtly adding texture and bounce; Ronald Bruner Jr. attacking the drums with controlled chaos; and the incredible Miles Mosley on upright bass, who somehow made his massive instrument feel light and nimble. And then, casually, there was Ryan Porter, a trombone legend in his own right, bringing a touch of old-school brass swagger.

But of course, all eyes were on Kamasi himself, dressed in a flowing patchwork outfit, his tenor saxophone an extension of his body. His playing is powerful, unmistakable. He weaves through melodies with spiritual intensity, and when he steps forward for a solo, the air thickens. He’s not just performing; he’s communicating something ancient and future-bound all at once.

Kamasi is more than a musician, he’s also an adept storyteller. Midway through the set, he shared a touching anecdote about his daughter discovering music for the first time, endlessly repeating a melody on the piano. That moment of discovery inspired one of the songs on Fearless Movement, and hearing it live felt like being let into a personal, intimate moment rendered in full sonic color.

Then came a highlight: Kamasi introduced a piece they composed for Lazarus, the new anime from Shinichirō Watanabe (of Cowboy Bebop fame). It was a perfect crossover, a jazz suite fit for a futuristic noir world. Watching it live, you could hear echoes of space, soul, and story in every note.

As the night progressed, the energy built, until the moment when each band member was given space to stretch out. Patrice Quinn’s voice soared; Ronald Bruner Jr. turned the drum solo into a spiritual awakening; DJ Battlecat scratched and warped sound into something futuristic; and then Miles Mosley absolutely tore the roof off with a thunderous, swaggering double bass solo. When Ryan Porter’s trombone solo followed, it was the perfect exclamation point, warm, rich, and full of charisma.

By now, the crowd was locked in, with heads nodding, bodies swaying, smiles everywhere. The groove was relentless, the energy communal. Song after song, some likely from Fearless Movement, others from his earlier work like The Epic or Heaven and Earth, Kamasi and his band pushed the limits of form while never losing the audience. You didn’t need to know jazz theory to feel it: this was music with depth, joy, and meaning.

Kamasi Washington’s concert wasn’t just a display of virtuosity (but of course there was plenty of that). It was a reminder of why live music matters: it brings people together, surprises us, shakes us out of routine. I walked in uncertain and left energised, curious, and maybe even a little transformed. If this is jazz, I want more.

Kamasi Washington played on 5th June 2025 at Capitol Theatre, Singapore, presented by Collective Minds.