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Kamasai Washington
Kamasi Washington (born February 18, 1981) is an American jazz saxophonist. He is a founding member of the jazz collective West Coast Get Down.
Washington was born in 1981 and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of the Academy of Music of Alexander Hamilton High School in Beverlywood, Los Angeles. Washington next enrolled in UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology, where he began playing with faculty members such as Kenny Burrell, Gerald Wilson, and Billy Higgins, who mentored a quartet with Washington, pianist Cameron Graves, and the brothers Stephen (“Thundercat”) and Ronald Bruner. They released their debut album Young Jazz Giants in 2004 on Birdman Records.

Kamasi Washington poses for photos with his saxophone "The Duchess" at The Atom Factory in Culver City, CA (March 8, 2016)

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 25: Kamasi Washington preforms onstage at 2017 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images )