Askim

Askim does not sound like the rest of The Epic. It is not that it is longer —although at 12 minutes and 35 seconds it is—, but rather that where the other songs by Kamasi Washington expand in rhythmic and harmonic layers, this one remains still, breathing. There is no rush. The piece is built around a saxophone solo that repeats a minimal melodic phrase, almost like a lament, while the bass and drums outline a hypnotic groove that does not push forward, but invites one to sink into the sound. It is not jazz of technical display; it is atmospheric jazz, where each instrument seems to be playing from within the same shadow.

They recorded it among several engineers in sessions that sought not perfection, but something more organic. Kamasi Washington appears as arranger and producer, but the most curious credit is that of the seven technicians who signed the recording: Tony Austin, Chris Constable, Julie Everson, Carson Lehman, Conrad Leon, Brian Rosemeyer, and Tyler Shields. There are no star names here, just a team that captured what was happening in the moment. The mix, handled by Benjamin Tierney, reinforces that sense of space: the instruments do not compete, they complement each other, as if the studio itself had decided to let each note breathe. When it was released in May 2015, the album received a score of 83 out of 100 on Metacritic, a backing that confirmed what many already sensed: that The Epic was not just a jazz album, but a gateway for those who had never heard anything like it.