YOUNG TURKS
Daniel Dylan Wray
After 2015’s epic The Epic, Kamasi Washington has decided to release just a double LP on this occasion, instead of a triple, while also squeezing in a superb EP in 2017’s Harmony Of Difference. Washington is clearly locked into a momentous groove at present, which he continues to ride out with grace into this twopart album. The opening Fists Of Fury sets the tone for a record that is as alive, spontaneous, spunky and innovative as it is restrained, suave and glistening. Washington’s blend of jazz, led by his endlessly engulfing saxophone, is a blend of the sugary and the experimental. He constantly displays the ability to switch the mood between velvetsmooth and head-crackingly atonal, but he usually resides somewhere in the middle, forging out a continually unpredictable path. Drums spark and spit restlessly around him and basslines dance joyously throughout – it’s a musical gift that keeps on giving until its dying moments.
VERDICT 9/10