It’s one thing to play a jazz club. It’s another thing entirely to own it. On Tuesday night, Kamasi Washington owned the brand-new Blue Note Los Angeles. The 44-year-old saxophone sorcerer, bandleader, composer, and spiritual ambassador of South Los Angeles continued his 12-night hometown residency with a show that felt more like a family reunion than a mid-week club gig.
Outside, Hollywood’s neon flickered on the marquee. Inside, the room glowed in indigo and brass, the air filled with the clinking of glasses, the hum of conversation, the anticipation of something transcendent. Then Kamasi walked on, his tenor sax gleaming like a sunrise in the half-light and his trusty band in tow.
This residency is something of a homecoming for a man whose music has carried the pulse of Los Angeles across the world, from the neighborhoods of Leimert Park and Inglewood to Glastonbury and the White House.
As he sat down for his second show of the night, Kamasi expressed his gratitude for being able to perform so close to home, alongside a band that included his father, Rickey Washington, on woodwinds.
In that moment, the spirit of South L.A.’s creative community—spearheaded by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat, Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and, of course, Kamasi—seemed to shimmer in the air. The same energy that birthed To Pimp a Butterfly and Kamasi’s The Epic flowed through the Blue Note’s perfectly soundproofed walls.
From the first notes of “Change of the Guard”, the band sounded like a living, breathing organism. Ryan Porter’s trombone wrapped around Kamasi’s sax in a brassy embrace, while Miles Mosley coaxed thunder from his upright bass. Tony Austin and Allakoi Peete, percussion and drums in synchronized orbit, laid down a rhythm that felt both ancient and alive, like the heartbeat of the city itself.
Then came “Song for Austin”, a tender, expansive tribute to the late piano prodigy Austin Peralta. Kamasi’s sax soared, crying and praying all at once, before handing the reins to Ryan for a trombone solo that grooved and grieved in equal measure. Midway through, Allakoi stepped to the mic, trading his congas for verses that echoed like poetry over the beat, in a moment of grounded hip-hop humanity amid celestial jazz.
The night deepened with “Asha the First” as Kamasi spent some time on his funky keyboard rig and grinned while his father floated through a flute solo that shimmered like desert wind. The groove built slowly and steadily until Tony Austin exploded into a drum solo that rattled the tables and sent the audience into an eruption of cheers.
[Photo: Josh Martin – Kamasi Washington (right) watches as Rickey Washington (left) takes a solo, Blue Note Los Angeles, 10/7/25]
“Vi Lua Vi Sol”, a song as luminous as its title, gave Patrice Quinn the mic, her voice soft and celestial on this lullaby for the soul. Rickey doubled on clarinet, his tone smoky and wise, while Kamasi’s sax cut through with conviction, earth meeting sky.
The set closed with “Prologue”, beginning with a meditative piano solo from Cameron Graves that felt like sunrise over Crenshaw. Miles Mosley followed with a mind-bending standup bass improvisation, going so far as to take a bow to its strings. Together, they pulled the audience into something weightless, that rare hush when everyone in the room is hanging on the same breath.
Related: Robert Glasper Opens Blue Note Los Angeles In Pitch-Perfect Fashion [Photos/Videos]
It was spiritual, yes, but also deeply funky. There were moments when the room felt like a church, others when it was nearly a block party. That’s the duality of Kamasi Washington, the preacher and the party-starter, the cosmic visionary and the local kid from Leimert Park.
By the final bow, the audience was on its feet, roaring not just for the music but for what it meant to see this kind of jazz, born in the streets of South L.A., thriving on one of Hollywood’s newest, hottest stages.
Kamasi continues his Blue Note Los Angeles residency with two shows nightly through October 12th before heading north for a special performance at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco on November 15th. Find tickets to upcoming shows at Blue Note Los Angeles here.
If Tuesday’s performance proved anything, it’s that jazz—real jazz, the kind that heals and moves and grooves—is alive and well in Los Angeles. And right now, Kamasi Washington is the burning core, lighting up the Blue Note like it’s the center of the universe.
Below, check out photos of Kamasi Washington at Blue Note Los Angeles below via Josh Martin.
