Stream: Kamasi Washington, ‘Fists Of Fury’ and ‘The Space Travelers Lullaby’

Daiana Feuer on April 10th, 2018

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Ten minutes is a pretty average song length when it comes to jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington. His new double LP, “Heaven and Earth,” follows 2015’s three-hour-long album, “The Epic,” and last year’s “Harmony of Difference” EP, with 16 songs clocking in at 2 1/2 hours of exploratory sorcery. “Heaven and Earth” is out June 22 via Young Turks. The album was recorded at Henson Studios with his band, The Next Step, as well as members of the The West Coast Get Down collective. Some of the musicians include Terrace Martin, Ronald Bruner, Jr., Cameron Graves, Brandon Coleman, Miles Mosley, Patrice Quinn, and Tony Austin.

The album revolves around the notion that “The world that my mind lives in, lives in my mind,” says Washington. “The reality we experience is a mere creation of our consciousness, but our consciousness creates this reality based on those very same experiences. We are simultaneously the creators of our personal universe and creations of our personal universe.” Washington examines these ideas by balancing the two sides of the album. “The ‘Earth’ side of this album represents the world as I see it outwardly, the world that I am a part of. The ‘Heaven’ side of this album represents the world as I see it inwardly, the world that is a part of me. Who I am and the choices I make lie somewhere in between.”

Today, Washington shared two songs from the album and teaser cuts of videos by Jenn Nkiru, part of a larger film project that will be released later this year. A rearrangement of the theme song from the 1972 Kung Fu film, “Fists of Fury” is the first track from the “Earth” half of the record, while “The Space Travelers Lullaby” opens up the “Heaven” side.

||| Stream: “Fists Of Fury” and