Life is good when "Can I avoid listening to this brand new album for one whole week from one of my favorite artists so I can buy the vinyl from the merch stand after his concert and enjoy the first taste on my turntable?" qualifies as a major concern.

It turns out I didn't even need to wait until after the show to hear Kamasi Washington's Fearless Movement. The jazz saxophonist's nearly two-hour set consisted entirely of tunes from the new LP, running through about 75% of the whole album. Much like my first time seeing the Californian back in 2018, the seventh stop on his current tour did not disappoint, despite my exceedingly high expectations. The unexpected was the devotion to new tracks only. 

Compared to his previous two full lengths, both of which clock in around three hours, Fearless Movement is a mere double album at a "brief" 87 minutes. Whatever the length, it's classic Kamasi supported by, as always, the supremely talented West Coast Get Down. In concert, at numerous times I found myself dumbly smiling in awe of their extended instrumental conversations. While the home listening experience isn't quite the same, many of those segments equally make my arm hair stand on end, notably "Asha the First" and "Road to Self (KO)", along with the perfectly placed closing "Prologue." 

As with his prior releases, I could do without many of the vocals. But if the trade-off is a handful of segments that are quickly left behind in the name of righteous West Coast Get Down voyages, I'll endure the occasional verbal musing as a prerequisite to witness the greener pastures of their collective musical discourse.