And Washington, a youngish man from Inglewood, is still reaching. It’s not even an easy fit in the world of today’s jazz jazz, but rather a project that draws on the pioneering progressions of Pharaoh Sanders, Oliver Nelson, Archie Shepp and, inevitably, John Coltrane among other key figures of ‘60s and ‘70s jazz, inspired by social and cultural consciousness and struggles to reach for new forms of expression. But the very fact that it and its creator, saxophonist and composer Kamasi Washington, are being celebrated in relatively mainstream circles is itself epic. Kamasi Washington did, in size and in scope: Three full CDs spanned by an ambitious jazz suite with layers of strings and vocal choruses ornamenting the complex but compelling celestial excursions. If you title an album “The Epic,” you’d better deliver. Kamasi Washington, 'The Epic' (Brainfeeder) 16 return to Paris - the Olympia Theatre, not La Bataclan at this point. One lovely version of the song is an all-vocal rendition by Petra Haden.Īnd now Eagles of Death Metal has just announced the rescheduled European dates, with a Feb. Artists around the world took up a challenge to do their own versions, all proceeds going to the Sweet Stuff Foundation, to help the family of EODM crew member Nick Alexander, who was killed at La Bataclan. Meanwhile, as the Inland Empire became a target in the San Bernardino attack, the song itself became a celebration and remembrance. Bono introduced the California outfit and the two bands together played Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power” before the Irish band left the stage for EODM to close out with its own “I Love You All the Time,” a highlight from its recent, frisky “Zipper Down” album. (The album is a legitimate entry for a California’s best list this year, regardless of the surrounding events.) But hearing or reading his resolute determination to keep the music going, to be back on that stage, to be the first band to play at La Bataclan when it reopens, it’s hard not to be moved to tears, as many were.Īnd the tears came again just recently when Eagles of Death Metal was brought onstage at Paris’ Accor Arena by U2, which was completing a set of shows that had been postponed after the attack. Watching the video or reading the words, it’s hard not to be shaken, too. He shakily recounted the events of that night, the harrowing escape and the realization of what had happened. Hughes’ words above came in a video conversation with Vice, the only interview he’s done since the massacre. It was a seeming ill fit for a good-time band with an ironic name. But the unthinkable events thrust the Palm Desert group into global consciousness, associating them with the horror and tragedy that occurred. Eagles of Death Metal, while having a strong following, was hardly a mainstream presence. 13, killing 84 and wounding scores more as part of a citywide series of attacks, knew anything about the band playing that night. It’s unclear, and perhaps unlikely, that the terrorists who stormed La Bataclan theater on Nov. Arguably, the most inspiring words not just from a California artist but in all of rock this year stemmed from an unspeakable tragedy, and not here in the state but in Paris.
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