Watch Kamasi Washington perform “Lesanu” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

Kamasi Washington performing “Lesanu” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC

Last night, Kamasi Washington performed “Lesanu” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” a track off his 2024 album Fearless Movement. Washington and his band—featuring his father Rickey Washington on flute, Ryan Porter on trombone, Brandon Coleman and Cameron Graves on keys and piano, Tony Austin and Mike Mitchell on drums, Miles Mosley on bass, Patrice Quinn on vocals and DJ Battlecat—were joined by a group of Ethiopian dancers performing traditional movements from around the country choreographed by Dereje Bekele and Bethlehem Bekele.

The performance caps off a great year for Washington, who unveiled Fearless Movement in May, played a completely sold-out tour of North America, co-curated the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Fest with Herbie Hancock for the second year and made. Fearless Movement features collaborations with André 3000, Thundercat, George Clinton, Terrace Martin and a number

Kamasi Washington was born and raised in Los Angeles. His four bodies of work to date—The Epic, Harmony of Difference, an EP originally commissioned for the 2017 Whitney Biennial, Heaven and Earth and Fearless Movement—are among the most acclaimed of this century. As Told To G/D Thyself, his short film companion to Heaven and Earth, debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. In 2020, Washington co-founded the supergroup Dinner Party with longtime friends and collaborators Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and 9th Wonder—their EP Dinner Party (Dessert) was subsequently nominated for a Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album. In 2021, he contributed a cover of Metallica’s “My Friend of Misery” to the band’s Metallica Blacklist covers project. Washington has played shows with with Kendrick Lamar, Florence + the Machine, Herbie Hancock and many more.

Kamasi Washington 2025 Tour Date

Feb
2025
Fort Lauderdale, FL, US
Botti At Sea II

Mar
12
2025
Johanneshov, Sweden
Fållan

Mar
17
2025
Berlin, Germany
Stage Theater des Westens

Mar
19
2025
Warsaw, Poland
Klub Stodoła

Mar
21
2025
Munich, Germany
Theaterfabrik

Mar
24
2025
Madrid, Spain
La Riviera

Mar
30
2025
Zürich, Switzerland
X-TRA

Mar
31
2025
Lausanne, Switzerland
Les Docks

Apr
1
2025
Paris, France
Salle Pleyel

Apr
3
2025
Cardiff, UK
Great Hall, Cardiff University Student Union

Apr
4
2025
Manchester, UK
Albert Hall