40
As Kamasi Washington intends to speak to us through his compositions and surprising improvisations; he lacks what I was hoping when going through this, as to hopefully analyze it fairly.. It is no doubt an interesting album, but there's a lot to take in here; this being a, well, 3 hour long jazz album that prides itself on being "Epic" and what it tries to accomplish: being the savior of Jazz before its "inevitable obscurity" as some of you would PROBABLY put it. What he lacks of course is what I want out of Jazz as a listener; which is an actual soul and well.. personality.
He tries a major league amount of styles here, ranging from Spiritual Jazz to even some Jazz Fusion and Post-Bop, but the final product is virtually nothing compared to what could be if this actually felt like artists coming together to create something beautiful they all put their own personality into. Playing off each other, creating new sounds, and coming together as community. Washington makes up for the lack of community with a self-centered view musically. As he tries to discover new sounds, he ultimately fails at what he wants to create which is something “epic” and “profound”, but in the grand scheme of things and sonically comes off as a bit egotistical, with a dash of savior complex.
Maybe I fail to see what this tries to create; an attempt at beautifully composed and “epic” jazz pieces consisting of somewhat creative ideas here and there. Musically, it just becomes null and void right as Washington tries to give us a piece of what he’s been up to, because at the end of the day “The Epic” is just a bunch of stuff I’ve already heard before.. just done to death and obviously derivative, without its own style. I will admit there’s nice parts here, but that doesn’t make Washington’s style any less incredibly boring and samey. It’s almost as if he’s trying too much and too little at the same point. Profoundly, he tries to be interesting and creative, but within its execution, it’s bland. To say this is bad though, is a disagreeable notion, as there are still nice moments… even if as a project, this is mediocre and a tad poor.
Track Ratings
| 1 | Change of the Guard / 45 |
| 2 | Askim / 40 |
| 3 | Isabelle / 40 |
| 4 | Final Thought / 45 |
| 5 | The Next Step / 35 |
| 6 | The Rhythm Changes / 50 |
| 1 | Miss Understanding / 45 |
| 2 | Leroy and Lanisha / 50 |
| 3 | Re Run / 50 |
| 4 | Seven Prayers / 40 |
| 5 | Henrietta Our Hero / 45 |
| 6 | The Magnificent 7 / 50 |
| 1 | Re Run Home / 50 |
| 2 | Cherokee / 50 |
| 3 | Clair de Lune / 35 |
| 4 | Malcolmโs Theme / 45 |
| 5 | The Message / 45 |
nah_'s Tags
52 Comments
Ves
2mo
Epic review
2mo
@Kodiak yes. i think kamasi puts too much of a focus on himself as an artist rather than the actual art. I hear this from the amount of solos and within those solos a sense of trying to "one up" the others, it doesn't feel like he's in tune with the universe or the music at all. It feels more like a reach to make some sort of impression rather than speak to the listener with the music. And with him trying to bd impressive, it shows a lack of ability to speak to the listener artisticly and musically. That's just how I feel though and I understand lots of others feel differently. Appreciate the comment :)
2mo
I realized that third to last sentence came off as redundant but i didn't know how to elaborate further there. In the end i just don't think his focus is to actually speak to anyone with his music, but show off how impressive his playing is.
2mo
And that does kind of affect how I feel about this record, because that's really what Kamasi wanted, to be impressive or "epic" even if a few songs show some levels of artistic and creative ability that don't feel to me as derivative or uninteresting
2mo
@Kodiak Well for me personally it disconnects from the music. Kamasi's style doesn't come from an act of wanting to better himself or even create beauty, but to be impressive.
For Coltrane, it was always about using his artistry to inspire and create. He was always trying to become better as an artist and find new niches. I don't see that here. I see an act of trying to be impressive technicaly and I don't think that's what Coltrane ever wanted as an artist. He never cared about the ego and idea of being impressive technically. Let me take a quote from him, “After all the investigation, all of the technique-doesn’t matter! Only if the feeling is right.” and here, it seems that Kamasi doesn't take that advice. Instead he only cares about the technique. I don't think comparing the two is fair at all.
For Coltrane, it was always about using his artistry to inspire and create. He was always trying to become better as an artist and find new niches. I don't see that here. I see an act of trying to be impressive technicaly and I don't think that's what Coltrane ever wanted as an artist. He never cared about the ego and idea of being impressive technically. Let me take a quote from him, “After all the investigation, all of the technique-doesn’t matter! Only if the feeling is right.” and here, it seems that Kamasi doesn't take that advice. Instead he only cares about the technique. I don't think comparing the two is fair at all.
2mo
The creator's intentions ruin it for me because the intention is all the importance in Jazz. His feeling isn't there for me.
2mo
It's a matter of caring so much about how you soujd technically over how it feels and that's what Kamasi doesn't have.
2mo
lol. I could swear that was one of the better albums of my 2010s journey. On the other hand, my AcclaimedMusic's Top 400 albums of 2010 was pretty lackluster.
2mo
@Wyroquax oh wow you've been into music for awhile. I see the appeal of this, just personally doesn't do much for me
2mo
@Doofly it was more of a joke than something im taking seriously but the whole "The Epic" name with the grand and modern, eclectic sound of this album gives it a "jazz is dead and i wanna save it" vibe
2mo
@Dr3am_H0use i apologize if i made you upset but could you explain? I tried avoiding attacking Washington as a person and tried to be more critical of his sound and approach musically, so I don't want that to come off that way if that's your issue here.
1mo
Hi I just created an account on this music critic website, hello, oh what is this crazy high average? I’m veeeeery curious, and a bit intimidated ngl lie, *listens*, erm, I don’t get it… what the fuck is thj- Oh Hey! Yeah this Kamasi Washington album? Oh yeah, it’s fantastic, most spiritual and epic album of all time tbh honest
1mo
@nah_ does my comment looks like I'm kind of upset? lol no, it's just your opinion. Still, I don't agree with your point of view on Washington's perspective or purpose with this project. Mainly because of an interview that I don't remember exactly what it was, but it shows how significant this project was and is for him (in a personal way, rather than in a musical context).
1mo
@Dr3am_H0use I don't think his intent or him as a person is in any way arrogant. I saw him in a Coltrane documentary and he seemed very passionate. I just think his playing style is very flawed and arrogant. Which is more of an issue with the music than him as a person. Idk why i thought you were upset at the time actually but that was silly of me
1mo
I respect him as a person. Maybe i could've put the review nicer cause it seems people think this is a personal attack
1mo
@nah_ I get you, though in the same way that I sympathize with his thoughts and perspective; I do it the same way with his music (obviously more thanks to the interview). And I think that's something that so much musicians nowadays fail a lot, and that's being honest with their music.
1mo
I think when I said "in a personal way, rather than in a musical context" I didn't make my point well. Because when I say "musical context" I don't mean the music itself, but rather a context in the entire music scene as such (just to clarify if that changes anything).
1mo
I see, that makes sense. Just don't want this review to come off as a personal attack on him or anything. For me his music just doesn't have a lot of spirit, at least not in the way I enjoy it.
2w
Check out Drake's new single "God's Plan" if you get the chance. Sound of the summer.
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