The Epic (album)

The Epic
Studio album by
Kamasi Washington
ReleasedMay 5, 2015 (2015-05-05)
StudioKingsize Soundlabs
(Los Angeles, California)
GenreAvant-Garde Jazz, Spiritual jazz
Length173:36
LabelBrainfeeder
ProducerKamasi Washington
Kamasi Washington chronology
Light of the World
(2008) 		The Epic
(2015) 		Harmony of Difference
(2017)
Singles from The Epic
  1. "Re Run Home"
    Released: March 10, 2015
  2. "Miss Understanding"
    Released: April 8, 2015

The Epic is the third studio album by American jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington and his first to be released on a record label.[1] It was released on May 5, 2015, by the Brainfeeder record label.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[2]
Metacritic83/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Drowned in Sound8/10[5]
Financial Times[6]
The Guardian[7]
The Irish Times[8]
Pitchfork8.6/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Uncut8/10[11]

Upon its release, The Epic was widely celebrated by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 83, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 7 reviews.[3] the AllMusic critic Thom Jurek described the album as "21st century jazz as accessible as it is virtuosic -- feel matters to Washington", and further wrote, "Holistic in breadth and deep in vision, it provides a way into this music for many, and challenges the cultural conversation about jazz without compromising or pandering."[4] Russell Warfield of Drowned in Sound described the album as "wonderful stuff" and that the record "deserves a high score by any standards of evaluation".[5]

The Guardian critic, John Fordham, who was positive in his assessment of the album, wrote, "Only a shortage of thematic surprises – given its extravagant length – keeps it from being quite the seismically jazz-changing departure that some admirers are claiming."[7] Seth Colter Walls of Pitchfork awarded the album the "Best New Music" tag, writing, "The Epic actually makes good on its titular promise without bothering to make even a faint-hearted stab in the direction of fulfilling its pre-release hype."[9]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
The Guardian The Best Albums of 2015 2015
8[12]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015
10[13]
The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s 2019
58[14]
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2015 2015
7[15]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2015 2015
35[16]
The Wire Releases of the Year 1–50 2015
8[17]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s 2019 82[18]

Track listing

CD

All tracks are written by Kamasi Washington, except where noted

Volume 1: The Plan
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Change of the Guard" 12:15
2."Askim" 12:34
3."Isabelle" 12:12
4."Final Thought" 6:31
5."The Next Step" 14:48
6."The Rhythm Changes"
  • Patrice Quinn
  • Washington
7:45
Total length:66:05
Volume 2: The Glorious Tale
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Miss Understanding" 8:46
2."Leroy and Lanisha" 9:24
3."Re Run" 8:19
4."Seven Prayers" 7:35
5."Henrietta Our Hero"
  • Quinn
  • Washington
7:13
6."The Magnificent 7" 12:48
Total length:54:05
Volume 3: The Historic Repetition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Re Run Home" 14:06
2."Cherokee"Ray Noble8:14
3."Clair de Lune"Claude Debussy11:07
4."Malcolm's Theme"
8:40
5."The Message" 11:11
Total length:53:18
Vinyl Triple LP track listing
Volume 1: The Plan
  1. "A1. Change of the Guard" — 12:16
  2. "A2. Isabelle" — 12:13
  3. "A3. Final Thought" — 6:32
  4. "B1. The Next Step" — 14:49
  5. "B2. Askim" — 12:35
Volume 2: The Glorious Tale
  1. "A1. The Rhythm Changes" — 7:44
  2. "A2. Leroy and Lanisha" — 9:24
  3. "A3. Re Run" — 8:20
  4. "B1. Miss Understanding" — 8:46
  5. "B2. Henrietta Our Hero" — 7:14
  6. "B3. Seven Prayers" — 7:36
  7. "B4. Cherokee" — 8:14
Volume 3: The Historic Repetition
  1. "A1. The Magnificent 7" — 12:46
  2. "A2. Re Run Home" — 14:06
  3. "B1. Malcolm's Theme" — 8:41
  4. "B2. Clair de Lune" — 11:08
  5. "B3. The Message" — 11:09

Personnel

Credits adapted from vinyl liner notes.

Band

  • Kamasi Washington – tenor saxophone, band leader, arrangement, production (all tracks)
  • Thundercat – electric bass (tracks 1, 2, 5–7, 10, 12, 13, 17)
  • Miles Mosley – upright bass (tracks 1–13, 15–17), electric bass (track 14)
  • Ronald Bruner, Jr. – drums (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 10–13, 16, 17)
  • Tony Austin – drums (tracks 1, 2, 4–6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15–17), engineering (tracks 1-2, 4-13, 15-17)
  • Leon Mobley – percussion (tracks 2–4, 8–10, 17)
  • Cameron Graves – piano (tracks 1–6, 9–13, 15–17), organ (track 8)
  • Brandon Coleman – keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 12–14, 17), organ (tracks 3–5, 10–12, 14–16), piano (track 8)
  • Ryan Porter – trombone (tracks 1–10, 12–17)
  • Igmar Thomas – trumpet (track 1, 2, 5–7, 9, 12, 13, 17)
  • Dwight Trible – lead vocals (track 16)
  • Patrice Quinn – lead vocals (tracks 6, 11, 14, 16)

Additional musicians

  • Robert Miller – drums (track 14)
  • Shaunte Palmer – trombone (track 11)
  • Todd Simon – trumpet (track 11)
  • Brian Rosemeyer – engineering (tracks 3, 14)

Ensemble – (tracks 1, 2, 5–7, 9, 11, 12, 14)

  • Neel Hammond – violin
  • Tylana Renga Enomoto – violin
  • Paul Cartwright – violin
  • Jennifer Simone – violin
  • Lucia Micarelli – violin
  • Molly Rogers – viola
  • Andrea Whitt – viola
  • Artyom Manukyan – cello
  • Ginger Murphy – cello
  • Dawn Norfleet – choir vocals
  • Thalma de Freitas – choir vocals
  • Maiya Sykes – choir vocals
  • Gina Manziello – choir vocals
  • Patrice Quinn – choir vocals
  • Natasha F. Agrama – choir vocals
  • Dwight Trible – choir vocals
  • Steven Wayne – choir vocals
  • Taylor Graves – choir vocals
  • Charles Jones – choir vocals
  • Jason Marales – choir vocals
  • Dexter Story – choir vocals
  • Cameron Graves – choir vocals
  • Tracy Carter – choir vocals

Technical

  • Benjamin Tierney - mixing engineer
  • Daddy Kev - mastering engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[19] 2
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[20] 18
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[21] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (2016) Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 145

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[23] Platinum 20,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Fresh heirs: how Kamasi Washington gave jazz back to the kids". The Guardian. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  2. ^ "The Epic by Kamasi Washington reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Reviews for The Epic by Kamasi Washington". Metacritic. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "The Epic – Kamasi Washington". AllMusic. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Warfield, Russell (May 5, 2015). "Album Review: Kamasi Washington – The Epic". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  6. ^ Hobart, Mike (May 2, 2015). "Kamasi Washington: The Epic — review". Financial Times. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Fordham, John (June 18, 2015). "Kamasi Washington: The Epic review – a spectacular new jazz odyssey". The Guardian. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  8. ^ Carroll, Jim (July 3, 2015). "Kamasi Washington: The Epic | Album Review". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Walls, Seth Colter (May 8, 2015). "Kamasi Washington: The Epic". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  10. ^ Hermes, Will (June 2, 2015). "The Epic". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  11. ^ Lewis, John (July 2015). "Kamasi Washington: The Epic". Uncut (218): 84.
  12. ^ "The Best Albums of 2015". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  13. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  14. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  15. ^ "Albums of the Year 2015". Rough Trade. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". Stereogum. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  17. ^ "2015 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 383. London. January 2016. p. 32 – via Exact Editions.
  18. ^ Dolan, Jon; Spanos, Brittany; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Sheffield, Rob; Holmes, Charles; Hoard, Christian; Hudak, Joseph; Leight, Elias; Exposito, Suzy; Hermes, Will; Martoccio, Angie; Browne, David; Shteamer, Hank; Freeman, Jon; Shaffer, Claire; Ehrlich, Brenna; Bernstein, Jonathan; Blistein, Jon; Catucci, Nick; Klinkenberg, Brendan; Schwartz, Danny; Grow, Kory (2019-12-03). "The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  19. ^ "Kamasi Washington Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  20. ^ "Kamasi Washington Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  21. ^ "Kamasi Washington Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2016 Albums". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  23. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Kamasi Washington; 'The Epic')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 23 December 2018.