Dinner Party: Dessert

Kamasi Washington has said that Dinner Party is not literally a playlist for such an occasion, but rather “food for the soul” in a more abstract sense. So Dinner Party: Dessert is less a sugary sequel to the jazz/hip-hop supergroup’s July 2020 debut mini-LP than a set of alternate possibilities, using the same seven tracks. Phoelix remains a key presence on vocals, along with Washington and Dinner Party principals Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and 9th Wonder. But there are additional layers to the cake: new rap verses from Cordae, Rapsody and others; a passionate guest vocal from Malaya that flips the script on “Love You Bad”; dreamy story elements courtesy of Tank and the Bangas on “From My Heart and My Soul”; evocative piano from the great Herbie Hancock on “The Mighty Tree”. Snoop Dogg’s interspersed voice-overs are the cherry on top for this set of “slow grooves to make you move”.