“McCraven, a Chicago-based drummer, producer and beat maker, has quietly become one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality.” —New York Times
Bridging generations of adventurous music with his improvisational genius and ecstatic beatwork, drummer and bandleader Makaya McCraven performs a timely Walker co-commissioned performance debut—his most ambitious work to date as a composer and arranger. A “beat scientist” who has galvanized audiences and garnered critical acclaim across the globe while helping to introduce jazz and improvisation to the next generation, for this Walker debut McCraven has imagined a large ensemble that features, among others from his cadre of creative collaborators, trumpeter Marquis Hill, guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise), saxophonist Greg Ward, and harpist Brandee Younger (Moses Sumney). Music is community in this multimedia performance that includes a video collage directed by Kim Alpert, bridging past, present and future with archival clips of Black activists and musical innovators mixed with live performance feed.
Twin Cities–based funk, soul, and hip-hop collective Astralblak opens, channeling the black experience through a new Minneapolis sound. Come early for music sets by DJ Jon Jon Scott (Sound Verite) in the Cityview Bar one hour before each performance.
Presented in association with First Avenue.
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The two concerts take place Friday, October 18 at McGuire Theater at 7pm and 9:30pm. Tickets are $26 ($20.80 Walker members).
ABOUT MAKAYA MCCRAVEN
The bleeding edge drummer, producer, and sonic collagist is one of Chicago’s savviest cultural players and a multi-talented force whose inventive process & intuitive, cinematic style defy categorization. French-born but raised in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts by expatriate musician parents, McCraven studied Jazz at the University of Massachusetts Amherst under the mentorship of jazz luminaries Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, and Yusef Lateef, and eventually went on to develop his chops in Chicago’s burgeoning scene.
His breakthrough album In the Moment was released with International Anthem Recording Co. (IARC) in 2015 and received widespread acclaim, proving to be a dramatic statement by McCraven that quickly launched him into the vanguard of not only Internationally-known jazz artists, but also a niche genre of next-wave composer-producers blurring the boundaries of jazz & electronic music. His recent releases, the DJ-style mixtape Highly Rare (IARC, 2017) as well as an internationally recorded Where We Come From (CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape) (IARC, 2018) have been well received globally, leading to increased bookings in some of the world’s best clubs, theaters, and festivals alongside the likes of Corey Wilkes, Bobby (Baabe) Irving (Miles Davis), Ari Brown, and Bernie Worrell.
McCraven is currently on tour and most recently released Universal Beings, a 2xLP album featuring an A-list of “new” jazz players from New York, Chicago, London & Los Angeles.
Artist website
Read NPR on Makaya McCraven
Read Rolling Stone on Makaya McCraven
Read the New York Times on Makaya McCraven
ABOUT ASTRALBLAK
Minneapolis has a long history of distinctive R&B styles and flavors. Astralblak arrived in 2014 and began to expand on that with an eye on the future but with respect to the past: “I see it as the next chapter of the Minneapolis sound” says guitarist elliott. One of their first shows was playing a Clash tribute; months later landing on First Avenue’s Best New Bands 2014, then as ZULUZULUU. After bursting onto the scene the band took a hiatus and gathered to build collectively and contribute to the new vanguard of black music.
Astralblak is made up of five musicians/producers: MMYYKK, Proper-T, Greg Grease, DJ Just Nine & elliott. armed with various synths, drum machines, and instruments set out to bring a new, exploratory modern sound influenced by the greats of funk, soul, and jazz with electronic excursions, hard grooves, Afro-futurism and soulful melodies. Astralblak explores the psyche and searching for Black Excellence: “Astralblak is church, it’s therapy, it’s family, It’s a space where we can express ourselves freely as black men with no limitations”, says multi-instrumentalist/vocalist MMYYKK. The band sees the group’s mission as part of a bigger movement “we see Astralblak as a vessel, a spiritual, sonic culmination of our experiences and influences from our ancestors”.
Listen
Artist website
Read Minnesota Monthly interview