The Epic
Rating: 5 Stars (Gold) * * * * *Kamasi Washington brings a behemoth of a song collection to the spotlight with "The Epic", a daring triple album of refreshing jazz fusion. As a massive aficionado of Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock's respective fusion eras, I was stoked to discover this album as a new album in 2015. What an album it is, being a whopping three hours in length, a feat that almost no musician would dare to throw to their listeners in a single release. In this case, those three hours are well worth the effort if the listener is willing to digest this monster.
Washington had previously made ripples in the public spotlight appearing as a saxophonist on Kendric Lamar's famous To Pimp a Butterfly. Thankfully he has been able to use that fame to draw attention to his fantastic work as a solo artist. I for one welcome the reintroduction of jazz into the present scene, as I strongly believe that it contains an array of beautiful emotions rarely experienced in the current decade. Jazz classics like Davis' 'In a Silent Way"' and Hancock's 'Chameleon' fill me with a sense of tranquil neutrality, a feeling that can best be described as viewing the darkness as your friend. I felt this rare beautiful feeling on this album when I first heard the Rhodes piano chords in the outro of 'Miss Understanding', the kick off track of the second disc and then again when hearing the repetive but gripping melody of 'Re Run Home', a song that plays the same role for the third disc. While I would consider those two moments to be the highlights of the album, the rest of the music has just as much purpose with minimal moments that could be described as filler. Mighty impressive considering the amount of material being presented.
Vocals caught me by surprise on what I thought was to be a purely instrumental record for the tracks 'The Rhythm Changes', 'Henrietta Our Hero', 'Cherokee', and 'Malcom's Theme', the last of which contains vocal samples of Malcom X himself. The inclusion of lyrics felt controversial to me at first on a jazz album, but they are a nice addition and add a new dimension on a lengthy collection where no human presence could potentially become weary on the mind in a single sitting. Another recurring set of vocals are the use of choirs on many of the tracks, which could be the closest thing to a flaw that this album has, as they might come off to some as slightly overused or even pretentious. It is only a small price to pay however.
I am a collector of physical merchandise when it comes to music albums, nothing boosts my opinion of a record quite like having a satisfying package to encase the music. After hearing this record I went out and purchased the physical product to have a proud spot on my music shelf. It did not disappoint, The Epic comes in a wonderful 8 panel digipak (I despise jewel cases), with three discs labeled "The Plan", "The Glorious Tale", and "The Historic Repetition". Albums today should take note of this inspiration and intention of giving a visual concrete element to the soundwaves.
A tiresome yet rewarding three hours, The Epic may well be my favorite album of 2015 thus far, the only other contender being the new release from electroswing titans Caravan Palace. I hope that the moods conveyed by Washington persevere for sometime in the music industry as a result of this release.
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