Dinner Party, Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington – Enigmatic Society (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 24:55 minutes | 289 MB | Genre: Soul
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sounds of Crenshaw – EMPIRE
Only three months after the release of their 2020 Dinner Party LP, Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder, and Kamasi Washington certified that the project of the same name would not be a one-time deal. They presented Dinner Party: Dessert with Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, Bilal, Tarriona “Tank” Ball (sans Bangas), and many other associates in on fairly radical alternate versions of each Dinner Party cut. At the end of the year, Dinner Party were behind the title track of Martin’s solo Village Days EP, and at some later point reconvened to make this follow-up. Enigmatic Society was synchronized with the unique quartet’s appearance at Coachella 2023. It’s another inviting exercise in concision that vaporizes genre distinctions between jazz, soul, and funk in a way that is ultimately hip-hop despite a total lack of MCs. Main Dinner Party vocalist Phoelix shares his role this time with Arin Ray and Ant Clemons. The three are on the same page with warmhearted expressions and intimate vocals that waft as peacefully as Martin and Washington’s saxophones. The tone is set by Phoelix in “Answered Prayer,” an atmospheric ballad built on Glasper’s serene piano; he sounds like he’s transmitting from the beyond as he sings of contentment and gratitude. “Secure,” also without drums, takes to the sky with help from the elder Tank. Phoelix signs off with “Can’t Go,” his noncompliance echoed by the sampled voice of Daryl Hall stretched to a drawl. Further evidence that this is a crew of ’80s babies is in the Sounwave co-production “Insane,” a showcase for a resigned Ant Clemons that blows bubbles with Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit.” Ray takes the mike for the album’s three most amiable songs, supporting an overwhelmed loved one on “Breathe,” and on both the softly bobbing “For Granted” and misty “Love Love” testifying in simple terms without being trite. As on the self-titled session, there is some instrumental material. The calmly driving “Watts Renaissance” evokes persistence and communal support. “The Lower East Side,” co-helmed by Trevor Lawrence, Jr., is dubbed-out funk with a grimace-inducing change at the two-minute mark. Enigmatic Society is neither as powerful nor as weighty as the debut, and certainly doesn’t seem intended to match it in those regards. It’s altogether a calmer, more romantic work. – Andy Kellman
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Kamasi Washington – The Epic (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 02:53:30 minutes | 1,94 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Brainfeeder
The story begins with a man on high. He is an old man, a warrior, and the guardian to the gates of a city. Two miles below his mountainous perch, he observes a dojo, where a group of young men train night and day. Eventually, the old man expects a challenger to emerge. He hopes for the day of his destruction, for this is the cycle of life.
Finally the doors fly open and three young men burst forth to challenge the old master. The first man is quick, but not strong enough. The second is quick, and strong, but not wise enough. The third stands tall, and overtakes the master. The Changing of the Guard has at long last been achieved.
But then the old man wakes up. He looks down at the dojo and realizes he’s been daydreaming. The dojo below exists, but everyone in training is yet a child. By the time they grow old enough to challenge the old man, he has disappeared.
This is, in essence, both a true story and a carefully constructed musical daydream, one that will further unfold in May of 2015, in a brazen release from young Los Angeles jazz giant, composer, and bandleader Kamasi Washington. The Epic is unlike anything jazz has seen, and not just because it emanates from the boundary-defying Brainfeeder, which isn’t so much a label in the traditional sense as it is an unfurling experiment conducted by the underground producer Flying Lotus who has featured Washington on his albums Cosmogramma and You’re Dead!.
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Kamasi Washington – Becoming (Music from the Netflix Original Documentary) (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 30:42 minutes | 652 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Young
Kamasi Washington‘s score to Michelle Obama‘s Netflix documentary Becoming has finally landed. The documentary paints a candid picture of the former First Lady’s life, from her early childhood to her marriage with Barack Obama, and the soundtrack is a vibrant jazz-tinged accompaniment that offers a whimsical “musical palette” to the personal story.
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