2015 · Album
The Epic
Recorded 2015 · Brainfeeder · Produced by Kamasi Washington
Big Band Jazz Steps Into the Now
Washington arrived fully formed, with an orchestra and a point of view that was impossible to ignore.
When Kamasi Washington released The Epic (2015), it landed with unusual force — partly because of its sheer scale (three discs, nearly three hours of music, a full orchestra and choir alongside a core jazz ensemble), and partly because Washington had been quietly working as a session musician for years before this debut on a label. The album was his first release on Brainfeeder, Flying Lotus's imprint, and that connection signals something important: this is jazz that exists in conversation with hip-hop, R&B, and contemporary African American music, not sealed off in a conservatory somewhere. It doesn't sound like a museum piece.
What actually hits your ears is a large ensemble playing hard bop-rooted jazz with genuine swing and emotional directness. Washington's tenor saxophone has real warmth and authority — he's clearly absorbed Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, but he doesn't just imitate them. Tracks like "Change of the Guard" open the album with orchestral drama that earns its ambition, while "Askim" pulls back into something more intimate. The choir arrangements are occasionally heavy-handed, and at nearly three hours the album does ask something of the listener's patience. Not every stretch justifies its length.
What makes The Epic worth your time is the sincerity of its reach. Washington is trying to make jazz feel like communal, even spiritual, music without hiding the craft underneath. For listeners who find a lot of modern jazz cool but remote, this album offers something warmer. It's a genuinely strong record — occasionally overstuffed, but driven by a bandleader who clearly has things to say and the musicians around him to say them.
Who's playing
Miles Mosleydouble bass
Thundercatelectric bass guitar
Cameron Gravespiano
Kamasi Washingtontenor saxophone
Ryan Portertrombone
Tony Austindrums
Ronald Bruner Jr.drums
Leon Mobleypercussion
Paul Cartwrightviolin
Brandon Colemankeyboard
Tylana Enomotoviolin
Neel Hammondviolin
Artyom Manukyancello
Lucia Micarelliviolin
Ginger Murphycello
Jennifer Simoneviolin
Andrea Whittviola
Where next?
More by Kamasi Washington
All 12 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
