Harmony of Difference

Last updated
Harmony of Difference
Harmony of Difference.jpg
EP by
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2017 (2017-09-29)
Studio Vox Recording Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length31:56
Label Young
Producer Kamasi Washington
Kamasi Washington chronology
The Epic
(2015)
Harmony of Difference
(2017)
Heaven and Earth
(2018)
Singles from Harmony of Difference
  1. "Truth"
    Released: April 13, 2017
  2. "Desire"
    Released: September 27, 2017

Harmony of Difference is a studio EP by American jazz saxophonist and bandleader Kamasi Washington. It was released on September 29, 2017, through the Young Turks record label.

Contents

Harmony of Difference is a concept album, described as a "six-movement suite" in the liner notes. The sixth track on the album, "Truth," makes up nearly half the album's length, and combines the melodies and musical ideas from the first five tracks, tying them together in a dramatic finish.

The album received considerable acclaim from critics, and the song "Truth" made several end-of-year best-of lists.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 7.9/10 [1]
Metacritic 81/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Clash 9/10 [5]
Exclaim! 9/10 [6]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Paste 8.4/10 [9]
Pitchfork 8.5/10 [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]

Harmony of Difference received general acclaim by music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 81, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 13 reviews. [2] AllMusic critic Thom Jurek praised the album for being "chock-full of refreshing, sophisticated ideas, all balanced by an emphatic inclusiveness that engages the listener at both musical and emotional levels". [3] Mark Richardson, executive editor of Pitchfork , awarded the album the "Best New Music" tag, lauding its "tireless ambition" and "explosively grand compositions and arrangements". [10] Nick Roseblade of Drowned in Sound had special acclaim for album closer "Truth", calling it a "stand out moment" with "infectious pop sheen", despite its length. [13]

In a less enthusiastic review for The Guardian , critic John Lewis found all the songs on the EP to suffer from "big, blustery, banal, unsatisfyingly static melod[ies] that [are] repeated over and over and over again, restated each time by horns, guitar, strings and choir". Lewis did, however, find praise for the "impressive band, particularly drum pairing Ronald Bruner Jr and Tony Austin, who rumble away excitedly and add a Coltrane-ish intensity to proceedings". [7]

Accolades

PublicationAccoladeRankRef.
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2017
31

“Truth,” the sixth and final track on the album, is featured in the final scene of the Showtime drama Homeland , as the fate of the show’s protagonist is revealed to the audience.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kamasi Washington

No.TitleLength
1."Desire"4:37
2."Humility"2:46
3."Knowledge"3:52
4."Perspective"3:24
5."Integrity"3:47
6."Truth"13:30
Total length:31:56

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Pause</i> (Four Tet album) 2001 studio album by Four Tet

Pause is the second album by Four Tet. It was released on 28 May 2001 in the United Kingdom and on 9 October 2001 in the United States. Pause was Four Tet's first release on Domino Recording Company; his debut album, Dialogue, had been distributed by Output Recordings.

<i>Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun)</i> 1970 studio album by Pharoah Sanders

Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun) is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded at A & R Studios in New York City on July 1, 1970, and released on Impulse! Records in the same year. The album's title is bilingual: "Summun Bukmun Umyun" is Arabic for "Deaf Dumb Blind".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Glasper</span> American jazz pianist, record producer, and songwriter

Robert Andre Glasper is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered around jazz. Glasper has won five Grammy Awards from 11 nominations.

Ronald Ray Bruner Jr. is an American drummer, composer and producer. He has played with hardcore punk/crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies. Bruner was part of the band that received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2010 for The Stanley Clarke Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrace Martin</span> American musician

Terrace Jamahl Martin is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, the Game, Busta Rhymes, Stevie Wonder, Charlie Wilson, Raphael Saadiq and YG, among others. Martin is a multi-instrumentalist whose music production embodies funk, jazz, classical and soul. Martin released his sixth studio album, Velvet Portraits, on his label, Sounds of Crenshaw Records, through Ropeadope Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thundercat (musician)</span> American musician and producer (born 1984)

Stephen Lee Bruner, better known by his stage name Thundercat, is an American musician, singer, record producer, and songwriter from Los Angeles. First coming to prominence as a member of crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, he has since released four solo studio albums and is noted for his work with producer Flying Lotus and his appearances on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. In 2016, Thundercat won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance for his work on the track "These Walls" from To Pimp a Butterfly. In 2020, Thundercat released his fourth studio album, It Is What It Is, which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamasi Washington</span> American saxophonist and bandleader

Kamasi Washington is an American jazz saxophonist. He is a founding member of the jazz collective West Coast Get Down.

<i>The Epic</i> (album) 2015 studio album by Kamasi Washington

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

<i>The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam</i> 2015 EP by Thundercat

The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam is an EP by American musician Thundercat. It was released on June 22, 2015 via Brainfeeder.

<i>Drunk</i> (album) 2017 studio album by Thundercat

Drunk is the third studio album by American musician Thundercat, released on February 24, 2017, by Brainfeeder. It features guest appearances from Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, and Pharrell. It was released nearly four years after his previous studio album, Apocalypse.

<i>The Proclamation</i> 2007 studio album by Kamasi Washington

The Proclamation is an album by American jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington.

<i>Heaven and Earth</i> (Kamasi Washington album) 2018 studio album by Kamasi Washington

Heaven and Earth is the fourth studio album by American jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington. It was released on June 22, 2018, through Young Turks Recordings. Both CD and LP versions of the album contain an extra disc called "The Choice" which is hidden within a closed part of the packaging which must be cut open to access the disc. The Choice was released digitally as a separate LP on June 29, 2018.

<i>The Choice</i> (EP)

The Choice is an extended play by American jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington. It was billed as a companion extended play for his second studio album, Heaven and Earth, which was released on June 22, 2018.

<i>Athena</i> (album) 2019 studio album by Sudan Archives

Athena is the debut studio album by American musician Sudan Archives. It was released on November 1, 2019 under Stones Throw Records.

<i>Dinner Party</i> (EP) 2020 EP by Dinner Party (Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and 9th Wonder)

Dinner Party is a self titled EP by American jazz supergroup Dinner Party. It was released on July 10, 2020, via Sounds Of Crenshaw and Empire. The group, consisting of musicians Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin, and 9th Wonder recorded the project at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles at the end of 2019. It features guest appearances from Chicago-based musician Phoelix. On April 14, 2023 a follow-up LP titled Enigmatic Society was made available to stream on all major platforms.

<i>Live at Slugs Saloon</i> 1982 live album by Albert Ayler

Live at Slug's Saloon is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded on May 1, 1966 at Slugs' Saloon in New York City. The music was originally released in 1982 as Albert Ayler Quintet Live at Slug's Saloon volumes 1 and 2 on Base Records (Italy), DIW Records (Japan), and ESP-Disk (U.S.), and, over the years, was reissued by a variety of small labels under different titles. A CD containing both volumes, plus an additional track recorded at the same concert, was released by ESP-Disk with the title Slugs' Saloon. On the album, Ayler plays tenor saxophone, and is accompanied by his brother Donald Ayler on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, Lewis Worrell on bass, and Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast Get Down</span> American jazz collective

The West Coast Get Down is an American jazz collective formed in Los Angeles in 2006. Its members include saxophonist Kamasi Washington, bassists Miles Mosley and Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner, drummers Ronald Bruner Jr. and Tony Austin, pianists Cameron Graves and Brandon Coleman, trombonist Ryan Porter, and multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin. Most of the members of the group gained prominence for their contributions to Kendrick Lamar's critically acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Porter</span> American jazz trombonist (born 1979)

Ryan Porter is an American jazz trombonist. Based in Los Angeles, he is a founding member of the West Coast Get Down jazz collective. A longtime collaborator of West Coast Get Down saxophonist Kamasi Washington, he has also toured with Stevie Wonder, Rihanna, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

<i>Blowout</i> (album) 2023 studio album by John Carroll Kirby

Blowout is the eighth solo album by American keyboardist and record producer John Carroll Kirby, released on June 30, 2023, through Stones Throw Records. It was preceded by the lead single "Oropendola" and inspired by Kirby's time in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, where he began writing the album.

<i>Cloudward</i> 2024 studio album by Mary Halvorson

Cloudward is an album by American jazz composer and guitarist Mary Halvorson, released on January 19, 2024, through Nonesuch Records. It was recorded with her sextet Amaryllis, produced by John Dieterich, and received acclaim from critics.

References

  1. "Harmony of Difference by Kamasi Washington reviews". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Reviews and Tracks for Harmony of Difference [EP] by Kamasi Washington". Metacritic . Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Harmony of Difference – Kamasi Washington". AllMusic . Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  4. Barnes, Phil (October 18, 2017). "Kamasi Washington: Harmony Of Difference". All About Jazz . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  5. James, Gareth (October 2, 2017). "Kamasi Washington – Harmony of Difference". Clash . Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  6. Sylvester, Daniel (October 2, 2017). "Kamasi Washington: Harmony of Difference". Exclaim! . Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Lewis, John (September 28, 2017). "Kamasi Washington: Harmony of Difference review – impressive band papers over the cracks". The Guardian . Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  8. Joshi, Tara (October 1, 2017). "Kamasi Washington: Harmony of Difference review – a glorious exploration of diversity". The Observer . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  9. Lawson, Sarah (September 25, 2017). "Kamasi Washington: Harmony of Difference EP Review". Paste . Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Richardson, Mark (September 28, 2017). "Kamasi Washington: Harmony of Difference". Pitchfork . Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  11. Weingarten, Christopher R. (September 29, 2017). "Review: Kamasi Washington Follows Up Acclaimed 'Epic' With Tidy Yet Complex EP". Rolling Stone . Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  12. Bungey, John (October 6, 2017). "Jazz Review: Kamasi Washington: Harmony of Difference" . The Times . Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  13. Roseblade, Nick (October 16, 2017). "Album Review: Kamasi Washington – Harmony of Difference". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on November 24, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  14. "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Pitchfork. December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.