Makaya McCraven

Born in Paris on October 19, 1983, the son of drummer Stephen McCraven and traditional Hungarian singer Agnes Zsigismondi, Makaya McCraven grew up in Massachusetts and developed an early taste for music. Introduced to jazz and Afro-American culture by musicians and neighbors Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef, he followed in his father's footsteps, forming his first band Cold Duck Complex and recording three albums. Based in Chicago since 2006, the drummer has become involved in the local scene, releasing his first album as a leader and trio, Split Decision (2012), on the Chicago Sessions label. Three years later, the double album In the Moment, which showcases McCraven's eclectic jazz open to free, soul, funk, rap and rock influences, received a warm welcome from mainstream critics, who hailed him as one of the most promising musicians in the genre. It condenses the essence of twenty-eight concerts with musicians including Jeff Parker, Marquis Hill and Junius Paul. The same process of compilation and post-production of raw recordings presided over work on the album Highly Rare (2017), while a concert recorded in London with Kamaal Williams and Joe Amon-Jones provided the material for the album Where We Come From (2018). Following on from this, Makaya McCraven embarks on an ambitious project, the triple album Universal Beings (2019), the fruit of sessions in New York, London, Chicago and Los Angeles with a range of accompanists including Jeff Parker, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings and a follow-up, Universal Beings E&F Sides, released in 2020. Meanwhile, McCraven teams up with French trumpeter Antoine Berjeaut for the album Moving Cities, then turns his attention to Gil Scott-Heron's I'm New Here (2010), for which he produces a reworking with the producer of the original recording, Richard Russell. The result is We're New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven (2020). The following year, the drummer turned his attention to the Blue Note label catalog to produce a series of remixes of his classics, resulting in the album Deciphering the Message. He surrounded himself with musicians from different horizons for In These Times (2022), including Jeff Parker, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, Greg Ward, Marquis Hill, Matt Gold and a string ensemble. Three years later, four EPs - PopUp Shop, Hidden Out!, The People's Mixtape and Techno Logic - are brought together in Off the Record, forming an eclectic assemblage.

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