The Choice

What more could Los Angeles tenor saxophone marvel Kamasi Washington have to say after releasing his sprawling double LP Heaven and Earth one week prior? Plenty. The surprise EP The Choice stands on its own as a focused, engaging 40-minute experience, with three varied originals, including the melodic swinger “My Family.” The covers—a somewhat darkly reimagined “Ooh Child” and an ethereal rendering of The Shirelles’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”—become expansive statements in the hands of Washington and his colleagues, who carve out their own aesthetic from a broad musical heritage.