There’s always plenty to talk about with Makaya McCraven. The self-described Beat Scientist — a drummer / bandleader / composer / producer / collagist — keeps his gears perpetually turning, in a range of instrumental context and configurations. Next week, he’ll set up for his bandleading debut at The Village Vanguard, where he recently played his first gig ever, with ride-or-die compatriot Marquis Hill. This felt like a very good time to catch up with McCraven. We talked earlier this month, and I’m pleased to bring you that conversation here at The Gig.
The Gig has published some past coverage of McCraven, and I want to be sure you knew about it. In the early weeks of 2025, I collaborated with the brilliant photographer Jacob Blickenstaff on a photo essay chronicling McCraven’s artist residency at the NYC Winter Jazzfest. That package went out on Jacob’s Substack, That Million Dollar Bash, cross-posted here. One of the photos that Jacob took for this project ended up on the cover of McCraven’s EP The People’s Mixtape.
What I wrote at the top of the photo essay feels just as true to me today:
Any performance by Makaya McCraven hums along a few different frequencies at once. What happens on the bandstand, pulsing with the push-pull dynamics of his drumming, is only the most tangible. There’s also history in the cut, an inside language of allusion and inference. At this point, too, there’s a metanarrative — the result of inexorable forces that turn a musical process into a musical product, requiring constant intervention to keep the pilot light aflame.
At the risk of overwhelming you with media, I also wanted to (re)-share audio of a panel that I assembled and moderated at the North Sea Jazz Festival, with McCraven, Kassa Overall, and Alexander Sowinski of BADBADNOTGOOD. This was a 40-minute conversation, and it went to some really cool places.
In case you weren’t aware, Makaya McCraven’s most recent album is a double LP called Off the Record, which assembles the four EPs he released last year. It’s great.
McCraven has inspired plenty of sharp critical writing. Among my contributions: a review of Universal Beings for Pitchfork, and a review of In These Times for NPR.
There are a couple of video clips dropped into the interview. They come from footage of McCraven and his band at at Thalia Hall Chicago on Oct. 1, 2025. If you want to watch the whole thing, here it is below. Video by Brian Ashby and Sulyiman Stokes, audio recording and mix by Dave Vettraino. Thanks to Team McCraven, including the gang at Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis.
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