USA: Kamasi Washington- Harmony of Difference (2017)
Earlier this year, avant-garde jazz titan Kamasi Washington premiered
Harmony of Difference, an original six-movement suite, as part of this
year’s Whitney Biennial. The EP is the first new music from Washington
since his universally acclaimed 2015 debut album The Epic. Harmony of
Difference explores the philosophical possibilities of the musical
technique known as “counterpoint,” which Washington defines as “the art
of balancing similarity and difference to create harmony between
separate melodies.” Washington’s suite includes visual elements married
to the musical works and draws voraciously on jazz for its foundation.
Each of the first five movements is its own unique composition. “Truth,”
the sixth movement, fuses all five compositions into one simultaneous
performance. Beyond the artistic impulse to expand the possibilities
within counterpoint, Washington wanted to create something that opened
people’s minds to the gift of diversity. In his own words, “my hope is
that witnessing the beautiful harmony created by merging different
musical melodies will help people realize the beauty in our own
differences.” “Against a backdrop of “fake news,” chemical warfare and
presidential missteps, Washington’s 13-minute opus thrives with
gospel-infused power, resting alongside his previous work while
occupying new sonic space…. The huge scale makes his music feel like a
sacred offering in bleak times” - Pitchfork Best New Track “a
liberation theology for fearsome times” - New York Times “We can
count on the man Kamasi Washington to deliver peace in the form of jazz”
- The Fader “an expansive, winding new song...’Truth’ unfurls with
breezy piano chords, soulful electric guitar counter-melodies, wordless
choral chants and washes of the bandleader’s smoldering saxophone.” -
Rolling Stone
