Kamasi Washington's Open Mind Makes Beautiful Music
In this 2015 episode of the Recording Academy series Buzzin', DJ Moonbaby interviewed tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington about the early music training that led to his 3-disc 2015 album The Epic. Asked about studying ethnomusicology at UCLA, he said, "When I got to UCLA it just opened my mind to the possibilities of what music can be, and it really showed me that music is a human trait just like language is." They also discussed his experiences playing with George Duke, and his collaboration with the Kendrick Lamar team around To Pimp A Butterfly, winner of Best Rap Album at the 58th GRAMMY Awards. Brought in by Terrace Martin to assist with "Mortal Man," Washington is credited on "U" for his tenor sax and for contributing string arrangements to the album.