HARMONY OF DIFFERENCE

Description

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Kamasi Washington first made a name for himself through his collaborations with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, George Duke, Flying Lotus, and Kendrick Lamar. The Californian saxophonist and composer then created a sensation in 2015 with *The Epic*, which was unanimously praised by the international press. On this debut album, almost three hours long and divided into three suites, the musician established himself as the new ambassador of modern jazz, giving it a new lease of life and aiming to make it unexpected and exciting once again. His first musical project since that release, *Harmony of Difference*, is an original six-movement suite written by the jazzman and first performed at the Whitney Biennial in New York in 2016. The complete 37-minute work explores the philosophical possibilities of the musical technique of counterpoint, which Kamasi Washington defines as “the art of balancing similarity and difference to create harmony between distinct melodies.” The first five movements are independent compositions, and "Truth," the final movement, merges them into a simultaneous performance, rooted in the foundations of jazz. Beyond the artistic impetus to extend the possibilities of counterpoint, Kamasi Washington aimed to create a work celebrating the richness of diversity in a broader sense.