Ami Taf Ra & Kamasi Washington Present The Profit & The Madman
1350 Lancaster Street
Baltimore MD 21231
Tuesday, November 10, 7PM
Ami Taf Ra & Kamasi Washington
“Ami Taf Ra's solo debut album... reinvigorates the spiritual jazz tradition by drawing on the transcendental and avant-garde foundations laid by artists like Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra.” — Pitchfork
North African, Los Angeles-based vocalist and composer Ami Taf Ra joins acclaimed saxophonist, composer, and producer Kamasi Washington for a special tour celebrating their ongoing creative collaboration and Ami's debut album, The Prophet and the Madman. Produced by Washington and released through Brainfeeder, The Prophet and the Madman brings together Moroccan Gnawa, Arabic musical traditions, gospel, soul, and spiritual jazz in a deeply personal exploration of duality, healing, ancestral memory, and transformation. Inspired in part by the writings of Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran, the album creates a sweeping musical world in which Ami's commanding, operatic voice moves between intimacy, theatricality, and spiritual release. The Prophet and the Madman is nominated for Best Spiritual Album at the Libera Awards, and the Ami/Washington collaboration "Gnawa" was named one of NPR's Best Songs of 2025.
Named one of Stereogum's Best New Artists of 2025, Ami Taf Ra grew up between Morocco and Amsterdam, drawing on everything from hip-hop to rock alongside SWANA icons like Fairuz and Umm Kulthum, and it was through Fairuz's son Ziad Rahbani that she first came to jazz. Ami has performed internationally across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the United States, including appearances with the Dutch Royal Metropole Orchestra, North Sea Jazz, Blue Note Tokyo, and Ronnie Scott's in the UK, as well as performances at the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, City Winery Boston, and the Just Jazz Concert Series in Los Angeles.
GRAMMY®-winning and Emmy nominated composer and saxophonist Kamasi Washington is one of the defining musical voices of his generation, building an expansive body of work that reaches across jazz, soul, hip-hop, classical music, film, and TV. A founding member of the West Coast Get Down, he also co-founded the jazz/neo-soul supergroup Dinner Party with Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, and 9th Wonder, and scored Michelle Obama's documentary Becoming. He has also been a frequent collaborator of Kendrick Lamar, contributing to albums like To Pimp a Butterfly.
Keystone Kards are not applicable for this show.