Kamasi Washington & Ethiopian Dancers Bring A ‘Fearless Movement’ To ‘Fallon

Kamasi Washington took a literal approach to bringing his new album, Fearless Movement, to life on last night’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The saxophonist performed the album track, “Lesanu,” while joined by a troupe of Ethiopian dancers.

Choreographed by Dereje Bekele and Bethlehem Bekele, the dancers performed traditional movements based on different regions of Ethiopia. Also onstage at Studio 6B with Washington was his father Rickey Washington on flute, along with trombonist Ryan Porter, keyboardists Brandon Coleman and Cameron Graves, drummers Tony Austin and Mike Mitchell, bassist Miles Moseley, vocalist Patrice Quinn, and DJ Battlecat on turntables.

Released in May, Washington called the 12-track Fearless Movement his “dance album,” though the term was not intended to be taken literally.

“Dance is movement and expression, and in a way it’s the same thing as music—expressing your spirit through your body,” Washington explained. “That’s what this album is pushing.”

Watch Kamasi Washington perform “Lesanu” with Ethiopian dancers on The Tonight Show:

Washington recently postponed and rescheduled the European leg of his Fearless Movement Tour after suffering a serious back injury. Washington will now kick off the jaunt on March 12, 2025, with a concert in Johanneshov, Sweden. The tour runs through a show on April 29 in Athens, Greece.