This is the new album from Kamasi Washington, entitled Heaven and Earth. It really is a crazy multi genre, modern jazz album that you should download and have a listen to, on a 2 and a half hour car journey! This album, conceptually is in two parts, have a guess… Tonally, they are quite different with the ‘Heaven’ section a tad more relaxed for me than ‘Earth’, no surprise there I suppose.

I’ve been following Kamasi (like I know him!) since his debut album ‘The Epic’ and I have enjoyed his modern take on the jazz classic genre. This album starts out quite frenetically with the 9 minute ‘Fist of Fury’, with a punchy samba vibe hinting at a continuation of style from last release ‘Harmony of Difference’. ‘Can you hear him’, however, goes left field before a slightly disappointing ‘Hubtones’ and ‘Connections’ calms everything down again. Highlight of the Earth section of the album may actually be ‘Tiffakonkae’ which has a beautiful lolping piano line. The Earth section closes with the exhausting ‘One of One’ track, nearly 10 minutes. At this point, if you’re streaming, the ‘Heaven’ section of the album is a relief. The calmer vibe is clear to hear and is probably more to my taste and I found the second section more relaxing on the ear in casual listening. My highlights here included ‘Vi Lua Vi Sol’ and ‘Journey’.

Overall, I’m quite liking my jazz these days with Jamie Cullum’s Radio show still a weekly favourite, more often than not on the iPlayer. There is also a bit of a modern London Jazz scene to that you can dial into on the podcasts and Tidal playlists, in particular, Blue Lab Beats and Ashley Henry. I do get that jazz is pretty ‘Marmite’, but I like Marmite and I like Kamasi Washington.

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Earth
01. Fists of Fury ****
02. Can You Hear Him ***
03. Hubtones **
04. Connections ***
05. Tiffakonkae ****
06. The Invincible Youth ***
07. Testify ***
08. One of One ***
Heaven
09. The Space Travellers Lullaby ****
10. Vi Lua Vi Sol ****
11. Street Fighter Mas ****
12. Song for the Fallen ***
13. Journey ****
14. The Psalmnist ***
15. Show Us the Way ***
16. Will You Sing ***
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Album – Heaven and Earth
Artist – Kamasi Washington
Released – 22nd June 2018
Download This At Least – Fist of Fury, Space Travellers Lullaby, Vi Lua Vi Sol, Journey
Source – Tidal
Player – Naim NAC-N 272
Amplification/Output – NAP 250/Focal Kanta (Gauloise Blue!)

Tracks – 16
Time – 2h 24′ 32″
My Rating – 3.4
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