Makaya McCraven

At some point in autumn 2018, it was clear to (almost) everyone interested in improvised music that drummer and producer Makaya McCraven, the Paris-born son of a Hungarian folk singer and a US jazz drummer, was the "Man of the Moment" (The Wire). Referring, of course, to the release of the album "Universal Beings", which took recordings from four different sessions in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and London and shaped them into a new whole in post-production using hip-hop-inspired remix, loop and sample techniques, which could be read as a manifesto of a global jazz community. McCraven, whose comparably great album "In the Moment" was simply ignored in this country, is currently part of the very productive Chicago scene, but has also been active in Los Angeles and London. In an interview, McCraven described his aesthetic as follows: "Every city has its own vibe, but really we're all part of a global art scene." An art scene that is virtuosic and skilled at collectively exploring and condensing musical possibilities before McCraven uses his skills in the studio to, in a sense, filter and shape the essence of live performance. He mischievously calls the fascinating results of his work "organic beat music". Those who now think of Teo Macero and Miles Davis are certainly right. Except that in Makaya McCraven's case, 40 years of hip-hop provide the decisive surplus. Please inform yourself about current hygiene regulations before your visit.