Kamasi Washington: "The Epic" (Album Review)

Genres: Spiritual Jazz, Soul Jazz, Post-Bop

Extravagant, magnificent, and bold are just a few adjectives that can be used to describe The Epic. Kamasi Washington puts his heart and soul into creating an expansive and dynamic landscape. In a sense, The Epic is a confrontational album. Listeners are challenged by the sheer magnitude of sound. This is a record that comes from concepts of size, power, and strength of voice. For such a huge project, there is still an incredible amount of closeness to the listener.

Washington is joined by his band and other artists who he works in tandem with to create a full and lush sound. Thundercat and Patrice Quinn are just two of the many musicians who bring a lot to the table. The gorgeous sound of Thundercat’s electric bass can be heard throughout many of the album’s tracks, but one highlight is his work on the seventh track, “Leroy and Lanisha”. His baseline isn’t the focus of the song, but it provides subtlety and adds another layer to an already three-dimensional piece. Similarly, Patrice Quinn’s vocals add so much to “Henrietta Our Hero”, but this is the centerpiece of the track. Accompanied by an expanding choir and percussion that rapidly grows in intensity, vast emotions are created and explored over the course of seven minutes.

The Epic doesn’t deviate from its operation on a large scale, depicting emotions with grand movements. Washington’s take on “Clair de Lune” shows originality without losing the qualities that made Claude Debussy’s work so powerful. Transforming it into an elaborate piece with mesmeric crescendos might have been a poor choice if it wasn’t for the extended time that Washington used in the composition to build up to his luxurious climaxes. His vision is laced with ambition and the seeming fearlessness to pursue his plans sees success in creating moments of thundering emotion. The choir vocals on “Miss Understanding” adds weight to the sound, making for vivid experiences. There is a quality of realness that is expressed in such an inspired way. 

Although there aren’t any moments and pieces that feel limited by the magnificent buildups and crescendos, there are some that aren’t made better because of them. The album is longer than most in terms of the number of tracks and the length of these tracks. I find myself asking if this really had to be the case. My interest is kept throughout the record’s runtime because of the many constantly changing and moving layers, but there are pieces that are just too overindulgent nonetheless. “Askim” is a twelve minute piece with an enjoyable climax but isn’t interesting enough to be a proper payoff for a buildup that is several minutes long. It doesn’t ruin the track as a whole because each individual segment is done well, but there is a level of dissatisfaction when considering what it all culminates to.

This album is undeniably a tale of epic proportions, with grandiosity reflected in its own title. Washington’s vision is ambitious, and this is expressed unreservedly. Despite the smaller moments getting glossed over in favor of painting the bigger picture, the record does evoke tender and soft emotions. For a body of work that is focused on its own immense size, the creation of these feelings is one of the most compelling qualities of the album. However, this sense of grandeur also ends up leading to one main drawback. Grandiosity is naturally conductive to overindulgence, which proves to be distracting by slowing down the built up momentum. Even so, it’s hard to argue that The Epic doesn’t accomplish its goal of being an expansive and “full” project. Just thinking about how powerful the beautifully crafted both the smaller and more delicate emotions, as well as moments of intensity and brashness are, makes me confidently call Washington’s efforts across the album a success.

Favorite Tracks: Clair de Lune, The Rhythm Changes, Miss Understanding, Henrietta Our Hero, Cherokee, Leroy and Lanisha, Malcom’s Theme, Final Thought, Re Run Home, Re Run

Least Favorites: n/a

Enjoyment: Mid 8

Critically: Mid 8

Arbitrary Number: 8.5/10