SALIM WASHINGTON is an avid composer, one of the best of his generation. His works are showcased admirably through his HARLEM ARTS ENSEMBLE, and the band that he led while living in Boston, the ROXBURY BLUES AESTHETIC.

He is influenced as a composer most profoundly by CHARLES MINGUS, BILLY STRAYHORN, and—somewhat unusual in this company—STEVIE WONDER.

As a composer/bandleader, Washington shows a penchant for mid-sized to large groups as his compositions and arrangements frequently call for multiple voices to be fully realized. He is, however, at home in trios, quartets, etc. and is currently involved in a duo project with saxophonist/composer FRED HO. Washington's style of band leading takes a page from MINGUS in that Washington's musical aesthetic, though definitely in the world of jazz, is beholden to the practices of the holiness church.

As a band director in the Church of God in Christ in his early days in Detroit, Salim has formed his musical vision with the notion that music is to bring down the spirits, that Holy Ghost visitation is the pinnacle of musical activity. That musical activity is a symbiotic affair between musicians and listeners.