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Apr 30, 2024Ultimately, Fearless Movement bolsters Washington’s prowess as a jazz bandleader engaged in cultural and musical curation. Rather than transforming the actual language of composition or harmony or improvisation, he stacks his influences and relationships to form an ensemble sound that is monumental, and thoroughly his own. In or out of jazz, that means so much.
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Apr 30, 2024On this latest opus, Washington and company are a tightened-drum of an ensemble that effortlessly flit between an intense focus and a playful freedom, and the results are stunning.
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May 7, 2024With Fearless Movement, his third great record in a row, Washington once again demonstrates his commitment to innovation, cementing his place in the great jazz canon. He’s reigned in the runtime, but the ambitions remain.
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May 6, 2024It’s far from perfect, but Fearless Movement is another worthy statement from one of the most important musicians of our time, and a convincing announcement that there is still a terrifying amount of creativity to be discovered within the bandleader’s extravagant afro.
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May 6, 2024With a running time of 86 minutes, Fearless Movement demands commitment from the listener through its stylistic twists and turns. The first half, emphasizing vocals and choral hooks, is likely more accessible to general listeners than the second half. But fans of contemporary jazz will find plenty to enjoy throughout.
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May 3, 2024He doesn't merely juxtapose instruments and sounds, he painstakingly combines them, bringing joy, intensity, political, social, and spiritual poignancy in a vision at once focused, restless, and playful.
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May 3, 2024On ‘Fearless Movement’ he’s made something that doesn’t feel overpowering to begin with. Less is definitely more and the songs here pack more of a punch than anything he’s released so far.
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May 3, 2024Bereavements and recent fatherhood have led Washington to ponder mortality. But there is little dread in these 12 rich and versatile tracks, which touch sensually on Zapp’s Computer Love and examine the Road to Self via a 13-minute workout.
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May 2, 2024t's ultimately perhaps telling that the most compelling departures from set templates are more naturally aligned with the territory of Washington’s past triumphs.
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May 2, 2024‘Fearless Movement’ feels like more of a personal piece than ‘Heaven and Earth’, leaning more towards humanism than the spiritualism that has so enraptured Washington in the past. The key to his appeal, though, remains unchanged; he makes music that’s apparently limitless in scope and yet joyously immediate, even to the casual jazz listener.
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Apr 30, 2024On these dozen tracks, Washington creates a playground and invites friends in to be themselves, shaping a dizzying crosshatch of ideas where George Clinton’s lounge croon sets up a trumpet-chased pep talk from rapper D Smoke, or André 3000 slips – with flutes in hand – into a nocturnal haze that feels like some futuristic Debussy state of bliss. [Jun 2024, p.85]
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May 1, 2024We have two different records. Disc One blurs genres, while impassioned jazz rules Disc Two. As for dancing in the literal sense, those moments come infrequently in this massive (Kamasi knows no other way) project.
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The WireMay 1, 2024Though some of the genre mixing does feel abrupt rather than fully integrated – for all its charms, “Asha The First” is a bit overstuffed – the album largely works, unified by Washington’s unwavering vision and exploratory spirit. [May 2024, p.58]
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UncutApr 30, 2024Jazz remains the root of his sound, with Washington’s saxophone as bold and vibrant as ever. But the grand orchestral sweep of albums past is pared back, replaced by adeeper engagement with hip-hop, funk and soul. [May 2024, p.41]
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May 7, 2024Fearless Movement’s first half is filled with guest vocalists delivering songs that attempt awkwardly to be soundtracks for both revelry and deep contemplation. The album gets better when it dispenses with its noncommittal relationship to party music, freeing Washington to pursue the heroic high drama that’s still his strong suit.
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