Makaya McCraven
Drummer, composer, and producer Makaya McCraven returns to SFJAZZ as a Resident Artistic Director for this special residency performance, revisiting his acclaimed In These Times ensemble with his core group plus strings. Aptly described as a "beat scientist," McCraven blends jazz improvisation with hip-hop grooves, electronic manipulation, and live sampling into what he calls "organic beat music" — a gritty, uncompromising approach that marries live performance with electronic reworking.
McCraven leads a powerhouse ensemble featuring bassist Junius Paul, guitarist Matt Gold, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, trumpeter Marquis Hill, and cornetist Ben LaMar Gay, along with modular synthesist Jeremiah Chiu and a full string quartet. The group draws from McCraven's recent Off the Record series — four interconnected EPs featuring collaborations with many of tonight's performers.
Live reviews describe McCraven as "the most exciting drummer I've seen in a long time," equally at home with whispered subtleties on ride cymbals and pounding backbeats. His performances are notably physical and energetic, with one reviewer noting how "sweat catches the shimmering light" as he moves between delicate restraint and explosive intensity. The music creates an almost hypnotic effect, with Paul's "seemingly endless ostinatos" providing danceable rhythms that literally get audiences moving — recent European shows found crowds dancing joyfully to the groove.
As part of his residency, each performance varies in approach and repertoire, with the music recorded live for future creative reworking — a process that exemplifies McCraven's philosophy of collaboration and improvisation as "a celebration of life." The son of free jazz drummer Stephen McCraven, he has assimilated post-Coltrane jazz and hip-hop's experimental fringes into a multi-dimensional sonic signature that helps define what contemporary jazz means now.
Expect a shape-shifting sonic voyage where "beautifully craggy melodies melt into one another" through ambient electronic textures, with the band displaying intuitive understanding of build and release that leads to satisfying crescendos.