Harmony of Difference [EP]

While Harmony Of Difference will delight jazz fans, it is a truly incredible record irrespective of genre. If you are capable of feeling, you will find much to love here.

Washington delivers an LP's worth of ideas, vision and passion into only six tracks and 33 minutes of music.

His music is both a challenge and a balm, the starting point of a conversation and a place you can go to meditate on what’s been said.

On Harmony of Difference, Washington’s work remains as substantial and compelling as ever, and with any luck this EP is setting the scene for another, longer release from him soon.

If The Epic was a very large and rich meal then Harmony of Difference is a palate-cleansing sorbet or digestif. On the surface there is nothing unyielding or dense about it and everything flows together wonderfully, but once you start to scratch the surface you discover an EP that is full of hidden melodies and motifs and has enough to charm to make up for its brevity.

Washington can flirt with bombast and kitsch, but his commitment is undeniable and the tunes are great. [Oct 2017, p.68]

Rather than living in the past or getting lost in modernity, Washington coalesces these two worlds, providing a dramatic move forward without losing his identity in the process.

Each sophisticated melody and harmony may seem jarring and sometimes uncomfortable--as is the way with jazz music--but underneath the spiritual solos and out-there notes, there is a simple, familiar sound--and here lies the beauty of the Harmony Of Difference.

Washington warmly traverses various themes (across both subject and music) and--via the wailing sax on Humility, the sleazy funk of Perspective, and the quasi-bossa nova of Integrity--it’s an enriching listen.

It's chock-full of refreshing, sophisticated ideas, all balanced by an empathic, emphatic inclusiveness that engages the listener at both musical and emotional levels.

A tidy EP under 32 minutes, but it still manages to cover plenty of ground.