Last year, Kamasi Washington ignited a flame within the jazz world by releasing a sonically ambitious debut called The Epic. The aptly named triple LP conjured all of the great spirits of jazz history while updating the genre and increasing its acceptance within pop circles. The cascading orchestrations and highly cerebral instrumentation in Washington’s recorded compositions embrace a sacred magic shared by greats from the past like Sun Ra, Coltrane, and David Axelrod. His talent and reputation as a brand-new saxophone hero have aligned him with a young vanguard of forward-thinking peers that include Kendrick Lamar and Thundercat, artists who empower black music through limitless creativity, an ethos perfectly suited to help heal today’s spiritual climate. CHRIS SUTTON