Ahead of Fearless Movement, his first full-length effort in nearly six years, jazz pioneer Kamasi Washington has shared a new collaboration with OutKast-MC-turned-flutist André 3000, “Dream State.” The nine-minute track finds Washington at his best, his saxophone humming over a brooding synth-laden soundscape, but it’s Three-Stacks who steals the show, his flute opening the track with an ethereal drone and later running through hypnotic scales. It’s a match made in heaven for two of the biggest names in contemporary jazz.
“When you receive a text from a wind friend something beautiful usually transpires,” said 3000, speaking on the collaboration in a press release. “The day Kamasi invited me to a session for Fearless Movement I was so geeked and honored. Now, every time we get together something interesting happens. We first played during a recording session for New Blue Sun and it’s been fruitful ever since.”
Fearless Movement is set to release May 3rd via YOUNG recordings, and features collaborations with Thundercat, George Clinton, Terrace Martin, and Washington’s own daughter, whose birth inspired the record. Washington’s North American tour kicks off the next day at New York’s Beacon Theatre on May 4th, followed by a trip to Philadelphia’s Union Transfer on May 5th (tickets and info can be found at WXPN’s Concert Calendar). You can watch a visual for “Dream State” below, or listen to it on streaming services here.