Kamasi Washington - Pink Noise Riga

At the Pink Noise Riga Festival – Kamasi Washington’s only concert in the Baltics and Riga this summer!
Kamasi Washington – Pink Noise Riga

 

Saturday, July 26 | Palladium | 7 PM – 10 PM
7:00 PM – Kārlis Auziņš Double Trio
8:30 PM – Kamasi Washington “Fearless Movement”

 

On the evening of July 26, Kamasi Washington, one of the world’s most spectacular and inspiring saxophonists, multi-instrumentalists, composers & bandleaders will be headlining the “Pink Noise Riga” Festival for his only concert in the Baltics as part of his “Freedom of Movement” European Tour.

 

Kamasi Washington who has released some of the most acclaimed musical records of this century like “The Epic” (2016), “Heaven and Earth” (2018) and “Fearless Movement” (2024), has been described by the world's media with a series of vivid epithets. He is called a “musical unicorn”, “The High Priest of Sax”, a “Coltrane-like figure” and “today’s most vital jazz creator”.

 

Washington’s grand musical arrangements, which we will hear in his performance with his group, have been anchored in post-bop, funk, soul, and hip-hop, while his unique saxophone sound has melted well with the music of Harbie Hancock, the “Florence + the Machine”, Kendrick Lamar, “André 3000”, and even “Metallica” and “Red Hot Chili Peppers”.

Opening for Kamasi Washington will be the Kārlis Auziņš Double Trio, a jazz ensemble of international acclaim led by 2025 “Latvian Grand Music Award” winner Kārlis Auziņš. Their 2024 concert was nominated for both “Latvian Radio 3 Klasika’s Top 10” Musical Events and the “Kilograms Kultūras” public media cultural award.

Performing at the festival will be Kārlis Auziņš (saxophones), David Helm (Denmark) & Edvīns Ozols (double bass), Simon Olderskog Albertsen (Norway) & Kaspars Kurdeko (percussion).

 

At “Pink Noise Riga”, the ensemble will perform the “Equilibrium Suite”—a special composition written for this unusual instrumental combination of two double basses, two drum sets, and a saxophone. The Double Trio’s music merges elements of contemporary, improvised, and jazz music, featuring conceptual rhythms and melodies inspired by global traditional music, energetic passages, and minimalist soundscapes. The suite is featured on a vinyl release by “Jersika Records” in March 2025.

 

About festival:
The capital’s music festival, “Pink Noise Riga” – launched in late 2024 in Riga by legendary jazz musician Branford Marsalis – will delight music lovers from July 24 to 26 this summer. The festival, whose main idea is to make Riga resonate with style, will offer a cocktail of world-class jazz, pop rock, fusion, and contemporary improvised music. Performers will include saxophonist and contemporary jazz titan Kamasi Washington; one of Latvia’s most beloved pop bands, “Instrumenti” (who will give their only Riga concert of the summer at the festival); the group “LUPA”; and Kārlis Auziņš Double Trio – winner of the 2025 “Latvian Grand Music Award”.

 

Festival concerts will take place at Palladium Concert Hall, with the opening night and after-parties held at M/Darbnīca.