New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Makaya McCraven has released Deciphering The Message, a vibrant new remix project for which the Chicago-based drummer, producer, and beat scientist Makaya McCraven dug through the Blue Note Records vaults to put a modern bounce on classics by Art Blakey, Horace Silver, and Hank Mobley, among others. The album also connects past to present by featuring new contributions from a stellar cast of modern jazz artists including vibraphonist Joel Ross, trumpeter Marquis Hill, guitarists Jeff Parker and Matt Gold, bassist Junius Paul, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, and De'Sean Jones on tenor saxophone and flute. Deciphering The Message is available now on vinyl, CD, and digital formats.
Across numerous albums and mixtapes, McCraven has proven his mastery of the loop akin to hip-hop's most celebrated beatmakers like
J Dilla and Madlib, both of whom also found inspiration in the Blue Note catalog. With acclaimed releases like In The Moment (2015) and Universal Beings (2018), McCraven created his own lane in jazz by sampling his band playing improvised sessions throughout the world, then molding the audio several times to pull contrasting moods from it. For his previous project McCraven remixed Gil Scott-Heron's final album I'm New Here into the equally emotive LP We're New Again (2020).
While Deciphering The Message collects songs from several years of Blue Note history, it plays like a continuous set taking place in one show at one venue. "When piecing everything together, I wanted to create a narrative that made the listener feel like they were falling into this space or a movement," Makaya says. "I always want to make music that will connect with people in one way, where it makes them nod or feel something or transport them somewhere. I also hope this makes them check out the source of this music. The music that we're making now is part of the same route and is connected, so I want to honor tradition and release something that people can vibe to."
"While McCraven cherry picks from a wide span of Blue Note history his subtle beat shapeshifting is the hypnotic glue that unites the free-flowing results, hanging together like an early-hours club set… McCraven's alchemical abilities and subliminal technical savvy offer both a sensitive update of the Blue Note label's depth-charged catalogue and a welcome pathfinder for the uninitiated." - MOJO
"McCraven is excavating willfully, cherry-picking pieces from the past and reassembling them into new wholes with aid from other forward-thinking adventurers... The crisp, contemporary production and beats recast the vintage recording—its vibe is classic Blue Note, but its sound is 2021... an impressively reconfigured pastiche." - JazzTimes
"McCraven's self-sampling comes into its own when paired with the fascinating Blue Note archives… McCraven's reimagining of hard bop effectively uses dub techniques to make it sound wholly contemporary." - DownBeat
"Chicago drummer, producer and sonic collagist Makaya McCraven was let loose in the Blue Note candy shop. This fine 13-track record finds him re-sculpting originals by the likes of Kenny Burrell, Eddie Gale,
Dexter Gordon and more, aided by a live band on saxes, flute, vibraphone and bass and a beatmaker sensibility akin to
J Dilla or Madlib… A clever and compelling work… Blue Note just got even cooler." - Jazzwise
"This album is more than just a jazz remix project. McCraven has enlisted the help of some modern jazz musicians...creating a deft mix of the old with the new." -PopMatters
"This is a grand experiment and a bold one - tampering with some iconic recordings but it's McCraven's way of both honoring tradition and making the music perhaps more accessible to this next generation of listeners… The beauty is in the segues, the sequencing, the layering, and the spirit of the endeavor."- Top40-Charts Magazine.
The track listing for Deciphering The Message is as follows:
- A Slice Of The Top (AKA "Sliced Off The Top") [from A Slice Of The Top by Hank Mobley]
- Sunset (AKA "Son Set") [from Whistle Stop by Kenny Dorham]
- When Your Lover Has Gone (AKA "When You've Left Your Lover") [from A Night In Tunisia by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers]
- Ecaroh (AKA "Revlis") [from Horace
Silver Trio by Horace Silver]
- Tranquillity (AKA "Corner Of The World") [from Components by
Bobby Hutcherson]
- Wail Bait (AKA "Wait Bail") [from The Memorial Album by Clifford Brown]
- Coppin' The
Haven (AKA "At The
Haven Coppin'") [from One Flight Up by
Dexter Gordon]
- Frank's Tune (AKA "De'Jeff's Tune") [from Easterly Winds by Jack Wilson]
- Autumn In New York (AKA "Spring In Chicago") [from Blue Lights, Vol.1 by Kenny Burrell]
- Monaco (AKA "Monte Negro") [from 'Round About Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia by Kenny Dorham]
- Mr. Jin (AKA "Mr. Gin") [from Indestructible by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers]
- C.F.D. (AKA "D.F.C.") [from Something Personal by Jack Wilson]
-
Black Rhythm Happening [from
Black Rhythm Happening by Eddie Gale]
Stream the playlist Deciphering The Message: The Originals below:
