Makaya McCraven

Born in Paris, France on October 19, 1983, jazz drummer and bandleader Makaya McCraven was raised in Northampton, Massachusetts in a musical family. The son of drummer Stephen McCraven and Hungarian singer Agnes Zsigismondi, Makaya McCraven took an interest in music at a young age. Introduced to jazz and African American culture by musicians and neighbors Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef, he followed his father's path and formed his first group Cold Duck Complex, who recorded three albums. Relocating to Chicago, Illinois in 2007, Makaya McCraven became involved in the local scene and released his first album as a leader, Split Decision, in 2012. Three years later, the double album In the Moment (2015), introduced free jazz, soul, funk, rap, and rock to his sound. He followed the release with the In the Moment Remix Tape (2015), followed by 2017’s Highly Rare, and the Where We Come From mixtape (2018). Joined by musicians from London, New York City, and San Francisco, he released the ambitious double album Universal Beings (2018), which featured performances by Jeff Parker, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka, and others. Makaya McCraven then teamed up with French trumpeter Antoine Berjeaut for the album Moving Cities (2019). In 2020, Makaya McCraven revisited Gil Scott-Heron’s 2010 album I’m New Here, remixing it and issuing it as We're New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven. Signing to the iconic Blue Note Records label, Makaya McCraven released the album Deciphering the Message in 2021.