Dinner Party: Dinner Party [SOUNDS OF CRENSHAW]

Why you'll love it

Four of the most in-demand names in jazz and hip hop made this seven-song set together, and it went to No. 1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. Phoelix's vocals turn "Freeze Tag" and "Sleepless Nights" into late-night soul.

About the album

Jazz supergroups usually arrive with a ten-minute solo per member. Dinner Party went the other way: Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder booked Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles at the end of 2019 and came out with seven short, smoky tracks that sit somewhere between neo-soul, boom-bap and spiritual jazz.

All four produced and wrote it together, with Marlon Williams playing guitar throughout and singer Phoelix taking the lead on four songs. "Freeze Tag" is the standout, a slow, soulful groove, while "Sleepless Nights" and "Love You Bad" glide by on Glasper's keys. "The Mighty Tree" and "First Responders" give Washington's tenor and Martin's alto room to sing, and "Luv U" closes on a warm, unhurried note. Several tracks sample earlier soul records, including a New Birth record, which gives the set its vintage glow.

The quartet followed it within months with Dinner Party: Dessert, a remix version that picked up a Grammy nomination for Best Progressive R&B Album. The original stays the purer listen, and frankly the best possible soundtrack for an actual dinner party, provided someone else is doing the dishes.

Also at Kops: more Dinner Party on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Sounds of Crenshaw / Empire (cat# ERE567), a reissue of the 2020 EP.