MPR: Drummer Kevin Washington: ‘You have to change the music’

Anyone who has seen Kevin Washington play the drums knows that he is among the most versatile of jazz musicians – as adept at playing straight-ahead tunes as he is incorporating Afro-Latin rhythms or hip-hop into his sets.

“One minute I’ll be playing funk and you’ll think that’s all I do. And right around in like the next minute — just like that — I can play a bebop song so authentic, you’ll think that’s two different drummers,” Washington said. “People ask me that all the time, ‘how do you do that?’ I just do it. You’ve got to do your homework though.”

Washington has been dedicated to his art for much of his 39 years.

Source: MPR