Life began for Kamasi Washington on February 18, 1981 in Los Angeles, California. In the Washington family music was more of a prerequisite than a privilege. But Kamasi never saw it that way, his love for music began at first sound. His father, Rickey Washington is a professional saxophonist by night and a high school music teacher by day. Kamasi’s mother, Valerie Washington is an accomplished flutist who fell in love with the world of science and became a high school chemistry teacher after her stint as a genetic researcher.