Kamasi

Kamasi is a masculine given name of unclear origin used in various cultures. The name is most prominently associated with Kamasi Washington, an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader born in 1981 in Los Angeles. Washington is known for the West Coast Get Down collective and for the 2015 album The Epic, a sprawling triple album that blends jazz with funk, soul, and orchestral textures. He followed with Heaven and Earth (2018), further developing his orchestral approach to jazz and long-form composition. Washington has collaborated with artists across jazz and hip-hop, including contributions to Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, which helped bring a large-scale, contemporary jazz influence into popular music. In addition to performance, he has pursued composing and conducting for ensembles and other multimedia projects. The given name Kamasi does not have a widely documented single origin in major reference works, and beyond Washington there are few other widely recognized public figures or institutions bearing the name.