5 Reasons Why Kamasi Washington Is Your Best NYE Option in NYC

On NYE in NYC the options are literally limitless and most of them involve overpriced everything and puke on the floor. So, we've put together one of the most incredible nights of music for you, the true music fan. The one and only Kamasi Washington will grace our stage as the new year rings in and we say goodbye to the weird, weird year that was 2016. Daptone Records family, The Budos Band, will heat up the room from the start with their mix of dark funk and afrobeat before Kamasi whips Brooklyn into a sexual jazz frenzy. Last but not least, Deakin and Avey Tare of Animal Collective will be on the decks for an extra-weird psychedelic DJ set destined to go late. Did we forget to mention we have VIP options too? As a refresher, we've put together 5 reasons below as to why Kamasi Washington is the true king of NYE 2016. Theres no place you'd rather be to take on 2017! #1 The Epic Kamasi Washington's breakthrough solo album dropped last year and immediately became one of the greatest jazz albums of the century. Refresh yourself below on the magnitude that is The Epic prior to NYE: #2 To Pimp A Butterfly Kamasi was hand-picked to help arrange and play all over Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly. Kendrick chose Kamasi, and we think you should, too. Check out his smooth playing all over "Mortal Man" below: #3 Social Progress Within The Funk Writer Greg Tate calls Washington the ‘‘jazz voice of Black Lives Matter,’’ and says that his music offers ‘‘a healing force, a place of regeneration when you’re trying to deal with the trauma of being black in America.’’ He also says "It wasn't just spectacle — it was definitely hardcore, funky blues riffing, which you haven't heard in New York. New York jazz has gotten very chamber-ish. I don't even mean the Jazz at Lincoln Center side of it... Everyone's getting real contemplative. This is some fire music with some funk up under it. It's just a roaring sound out of six or seven cats, which I love. There's just a looseness and a freedom to it that I haven't heard in a long time, especially in a New York club." Read more here. 4. Bonnaroo 2016 At The Bonnaroo Superjam, a fabled set of music that takes place each June in Manchester, TN, Kamasi was chosen as the bandleader for this years rendition, themed "Heart, Soul & Spirit: A Tribute to Tennessee," and he in no way disappointed. Miguel, Dev Hynes, Nathaniel Rateliff, Allen Stone, Vulfpeck and more joined the sax master over the course of two hours celebrating the great state of Tennessee. Watch him join up with GRiZ below: 5. The Sax Solo in Ryan Adam's "New York, New York" Yeah, that one. You didn't see this coming did you? That funky sax solo at the end of Ryan's classic track from 2001's Gold is none other than Kamasi Washington.