Kamasi Washington performs at the Warfield in San Francisco on June 7, 2024. Aaron Lee/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — “What up, Frisco?” saxophonist Kamasi Washington asked the crowd before delivering a marathon set with his eight-member band Friday night at the Warfield. Stretching the nine songs, all of which were…

Kamasi Washington, “Fearless Movement.” Historically, jazz has been under-appreciated as a genre in America. Legitimate musical geniuses, towering greats like Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Miles Davis, had to travel to Europe, escaping American racism to find audiences sophisticated enough to dig what they were doing. It’s both a…

Kamasi Washington performs at August Hall in San Francisco on Dec. 18, 2021. Sean Liming/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO —Whale sounds are almost always the sign of a really good jazz show. When the horns take on an otherworldly, aquatic twang in the chaotic roar of the musical maelstrom, when the…