Country : United States Label : Blue Note Genres and styles : Contemporary Jazz / Funk / Hard Bop / Jazz Year : 2021

Makaya McCraven – Deciphering the Message

· by Alain Brunet

Blue Note, surely one of the most renowned brands in jazz, has given virtuoso percussionist and visionary composer Makaya McCraven access to its archives (especially from the ’50s and ’60s) as the basis for his new album, Deciphering the Message. So what is the link between the Chicago visionary and this archive? The approach is that of a musician and beatmaker at the same time, that is to say, re-reading old recordings and making new music with his team, composed of guitarists Jeff Parker and Matt Gold, bassist Junius Paul, trumpeter Marquis Hill, saxophonists Greg Ward and De’Sean Jones, vibraphonist Joel Ross.

Thus, this established generation of hip cats draws on Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, Kenny Dorham, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter, not to mention the MC Pee Wee Marquette. McCraven proceeds in the same way as on his previous albums: drawing loops from the archives, rearranging, superimposing new basslines, new keys, and hip-hop beats on the hard bop and funk swing of 60 years ago. This is reminiscent of the acid jazz acts of the 90’s, such as Jazzmatazz & Guru, US3, DJ Premier, Buckshot LeFonque (Brandford Marsalis), Groove Collective, Ronnie Jordan, Brand New Heavies, Donald Byrd and the subsequent, even more hip-hop treatments of JDilla, A Tribe Called Quest, Madlib, Digable Planets and others Pharcyde.

McCraven’s added value is not as innovative as his previous proposals, as if the electro-acoustic beatmaker and jazzman had been intimidated by the historical recordings he drank from. The results are not as substantial as In The Moment (2015), Universal Beings (2018) or his more justified and successful re-creation of Gil-Scott Heron’s I’m New Here. That said, let’s also remember that the groove is there, the musicianship is there, the coolness is there. Don’t miss these more expert considerations and take the trip from today to yesterday. 

Latest 360 Content

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Transforming Hiroshima mon amour into contemporary opera: Christian Lapointe and Rosa Lind tell the story

Sparks – MAD!

Sparks – MAD!

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Peter Murphy – Silver Shade

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Ken Pomeroy – Cruel World

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Art of the Line: Klangkarussell’s Euro Vision at SAT

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Centroamérica – a powerful docu-play about truth and connection in an age of distance and denial

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Lido Pimienta – La Belleza

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

Tamir Barzilay – Phosphene Journal

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

The best ‘’Candlelight concert‘’ ever.

Men I Trust – Equus Caballus

Men I Trust – Equus Caballus

The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face

The Halluci Nation – Path of the Baby Face

A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season

A lap steel guitar choir and an angel to end the Innovations en concert 24-25 season

The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time

The OSM and Abel Selaocoe: Evenings When You’d Like to Stop Time

Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season

Reaching for the sky: Francis Choinière’s challenge to end his OPCM’s 10th season

Piknic 3: A Little Bit of Everything Under the Sun

Piknic 3: A Little Bit of Everything Under the Sun

Cazzu – Latinaje

Cazzu – Latinaje

Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film

Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film

SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock

SMCQ | In memoriam Jocelyn Morlock

Abbey Road at Festival Classica

Abbey Road at Festival Classica

Mira Choquette – Hier encore

Mira Choquette – Hier encore

Jared Dunn; Anna Gorecka – Gorecki’s World of the Piano

Jared Dunn; Anna Gorecka – Gorecki’s World of the Piano

Cyrille Dubois; Tristan Raës – Dupont : The Complete Songs

Cyrille Dubois; Tristan Raës – Dupont : The Complete Songs

Subscribe to our newsletter