Kamasi Washington - The Epic - New West Coast Spiritual Jazz

My vinyl copy is a little quiet. Not too bad, but I definitely have to turn it up a bit. Also there is slight surface noise between tracks. Don't get me wrong, I think the pressing is fine and totally acceptable. It's an absolute bargain for the price. It's not on par with the typical Music Matters or Analogue Productions pressing, however (but I think those releases are usually exceptional).

 

I picked up my copy yesterday at End of an Ear (Austin) for $39.99, which is a few bucks cheaper than the Waterloo price. Just a ridiculous value.

 

That's where I got mine (and took the photo) it's my favorite shop. Waterloo is great but EOAE is probably my favorite place to be in town, period.

 

Ain't that the truth. But don't tell too many people...

 

I got this out of curiosity from the discusion in this thread. I took a chance. Based on the comparisons and descriptions here I would not generally think it would be a style I would appreciate. But, there were a number of other comments that gave inclination to a very diverse style and not all avant garde. I'm enjoying it immensely. My best jazz album in quite a while.

 

Don't worry. We mentioned Kendrick Lamar in this thread so it will be like kryptonite to at least 90% of the forum

 

Just ordered the triple vinyl from Amazon uk here (out tomorrow) for £ 25. Seems amazing value for nearly 3 hours of fine music. Hope the sound quality is as good as initial reports on this thread suggest.....

 

Did y'all used to go up to End Of An Ear when it was still known as 33 1/3? Guadalupe Street.

 

Yup. I still have records with the 33 1/3 price stickers.

In fact, the first time I took my (then to be) wife on a date 33 1/3 was one of the places we hung out.

 

Jacob, Dan and Blake are good people. I used to live within a mile or two of there in Zilker Hills so my wallet felt the burn. I'm at Anderson Mill & 183 now so I don't visit the store very often anymore.

 

It's cool we have some Austinites round these parts. We should have a listening party.

Anyone want to throw out some "must have" jazz you would recommend based on the sound of this album? I'm thinking Herbie Hancock / Lateef / 70s Miles Davis? The solos are kinda hard bop to me but the arrangements on this are just insane.

 

Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi recordings, Julian Priester's 'Love Love', etc.

 

I know the Mwandishi material. I'll check out the Priester. Thanks

 

I'm a Kiwi/Brit nine-year-Houstonian who would love to be an Austinite....

(although my copy of The Epic is a mere cd copy from Amazon).

 

Kamasi is answering some questions on Facebook at this moment!

https://www.facebook.com/kamasiw?fref=nf

 

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There's also this:
http://www.amazon.com/Anthology-2-E...&refinements=p_n_binding_browse-bin:387645011
Some of the Lonnie Liston Smith Cosmic Echoes stuff is in this vein also.

 

Oh yeah. That's a good one.

 

Here's an interesting snippet...


Q: Whats your Top 5 records of all.time..?

A:
John Coltrane "Transitions"
Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky
Miles Davis "In A Silent Way"
Marvin Gay "What's Going On"
Kendrick Lamar "To Pimp A Butterfly"

 

More interesting Q&A tidbits...

Was Leroy and Lanisha influenced by a love for the music of [Vince ] Guaraldi or was he just a small part?

...yeah Charlie Brown was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid and one of the biggest reasons why I so into Charlie Brown was the music of Vince Guaraldi. So Leroy and Lanisha is my tribute to Linus and Lucy. Funny enough in true Charlie Brown fashion most people didn't get my point which in hind sight is really cool lol!!! Your one of the few people who got it.

Was the entire band recording it all together or was it all recorded separately?

The core band recorded everything together and then the Strings and Choir recorded separately. We did some overdubbing with some of the percussion too.

contemporary artists you love that might not have as much exposure as they should?

I really love what Laura Mvula is doing!

 

I had set up an Amazon pre-order for the vinyl like a week or so ago and ended up cancelling it last night when the item was suddenly listed as out of stock

Checked again this morning for laughs and it now says: "Usually ships within 1 to 2 months."

 

I grabbed one yesterday from amoeba.com $39.98. Free shipping, no tax. Shipped the same day. As of now it's still listed as in-stock.

http://www.amoeba.com/the-epic-180-gram-vinyl-lp-kamasi-washington/albums/3719023/

 

I picked this up on cd today on the way to work. I'm exicted to listen to it later. It appears to be the most talked about jazz album in a long time. I'm seeing good things about it everywhere.

 

Got the 3-LP box today. Bought on amazon.de for 29 Euros. It's actually a sturdy slipcase box holding 3 separately packaged LPs, each in their own cover and inner sleeve, along with 2 inserts. EU/UK pressing, pressed at MPO in France. Quiet as a mouse vinyl, slightly low in volume, as expected, but sounding good. Got through the first side and no sign of end-of-side distortion. Good mastering, with good bass.

 

Hah, your avatar: recognize it and the context.

 

Glad to hear that. I was wondering. I guess dropping the levels a bit allowed them to have full spectrum sound.