Makaya McCraven Deciphering The Message

Blue Note Records

Chicago-based drummer, producer and beat scientist Makaya McCraven is a wildly talented musician, well versed in reimagining jazz music into the 21st century. His astute sampling and looping skills keep the spirit of jazz as the driving force in his various albums and mixtapes, but bringing a modern, beat-friendly spin on proceedings. Last year, McCraven remixed Gil Scott-Heron’s final album I’m New Here into the wonderful We’re New Again LP. Now, the Chicago native takes a deep dive into the vaults of legendary jazz label, Blue Note and puts a modern, rhythm-driven take on classic tracks from the likes of Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Kenny Burrell, and Eddie Gale. Aptly titled, Deciphering The Message takes the core of those tracks and twists them into shuffling, hip-hop and beat-inspired workouts. Full of the verve of jazz, but with a beefier low-end and hypnotic, modern grooves, the record swirls through styles with a true sense of improvisation. McCraven does a brilliant job of immersing us into the loose vibe of Blue Note, but reimagining it for modern ears – making one of the most vital labels of all time, whose relevance has never waned, feel even more important today. Tom Jones

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9/10