Makaya McCraven : Off The Record

For me, jazz drummer/composer/bandleader Makaya McCraven is one of the most exciting jazz artists(or any genre for that matter) making music today. Starting with his breakthrough record In The Moment from 2015, McCraven pushed jazz forward by recording improvisational live shows, then taking those recordings and cutting/pasting them into studio works. Essentially taking the raw […]

Ann Arbor…Live Music…Long Way Home

Nothing better than a three-day weekend. Well, except a 4-day weekend but I’m not getting stingy here. A three-day weekend was just what the doctor ordered. What doc? Umm…Doctor Detroit? My wife and I took Friday off and headed up north three hours to the great Michigan college town known as Ann Arbor, or “the […]

SML, Jeff Tweedy, Tortoise, Makaya McCraven Incoming : Year In Music Not Done Yet

So I’ve gotta say, 2025 has been an amazing year for music. While most other aspects of this year have been, well, less than stellar, music has been that one shining glimpse of hope that the world is moving on. I’ve been pretty happy with movies as well this year, but music has been what’s […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums of 2022 Part IV(10-1)

These lists, as much as I enjoy putting them together, have become harder and harder to do. I never was much into ranking albums. I can talk about how much I love a record till I’m blue in the face, but putting them in some numerical order from loved to most loved is just a […]

Makaya McCraven : In These Times

Makaya McCraven is one of the most important musicians/composers working today. For sure in the world of modern jazz, but for modern music itself. The Chicago-based drummer/studio wizard has blended the worlds of jazz, soul, and hip hop and on his records makes music that feels very much grounded in the classic 60s/70s world of […]

Makaya McCraven : Deciphering The Message

Makaya McCraven is one of the most intriguing artists/composers working in jazz today. His jazz chops combined with his Teo Macero cut n paste arrangements have given me(and the rest of the world) something to look forward to every time he drops a new album. Albums like In The Moment, Highly Rare, and Universal Beings […]

long Story Short : 2021 End Of Year Gems

So there were a few releases that came out in the last month or so that I didn’t get to write a proper review up due to all the crazy year-end lists I spent so much time on. So in honor of these few amazing albums I wanted to give a shout out to them. […]

Above & Beyond : Makaya McCraven’s ‘Highly Rare’

For it being only the second week of February I feel like there’s been an amazing amount of new music that’s hit our ears already. At least I’ve written about a lot of new music. I’m not complaining, man. January and February are typically pretty barren of new music off the bat. It’s usually March […]