The upcoming release from jazz drummer Makaya McCraven is a set of EPs that have been bundled together to make for one, more cohesive experience, and he shared a lot of the new material at his sizzling set at (le) Poisson Rouge while backed by an impressive ensemble that helped bring these works to life. You don't often see the drummer as the leader of a band, and outside of jazz it feels even more extreme, but following in the footsteps of legends like Art Blakey, Max Roach, or Elvin Jones, Makaya McCraven has emerged as a leader in jazz and ensures that any time spend watching him behind the drum set is always something worth seeking out. After greeting the crowd, McCraven settled in behind his kit and guided his band through the new song "Away," kicking off the journey for the evening that would find the group maneuvering through these tunes with dexterity and real finesse. Explaining to the crowd how the new songs came to life, he explained how the band would assemble and begin to improvise together, creating complex rhythms and meaningful grooves that McCraven would then splice up during the mixing process to create the songs as they exist on the album. Playing these live means attempting to recreate the tracks while improvising together once again, approaching everything in real time as it happens, letting the music flow freely as they connect and share the experience together. Witnessing the songs come alive was a mesmerizing thing and highlighted the true talents of everyone on stage. Listening and responding to one another's notes, the band found harmony with one another, never overstepping and allowing each person on stage to find their groove and make their musical voices heard. With McCraven's explosive, hip-hop beats as the backbone of the night, bass, xylophone, electric guitar, and trumpet all found their way into the mix, gelling together for some rather beautiful moments, but also stepping back so that one another could flex their muscles and every time the crowd was right there with them, ready to cheer them on. "Sweet Stuff" was another highlight of the night where McCraven took more of a back seat and let the others show off their skills. On trumpet, Marquis Hill laid down some punchy, yet elegant hits and Mike Gold made his guitar twist and noodle along to help keep things flowing and twisting with charm. Joel Ross kept the night groovy as he stunned on xylophone, bringing an eternal coolness to the night and had everyone in the crowd going crazy for his smooth, yet tantalizing solos. Over on the bass, Junius Paul laid down some powerful grooves that had everyone feeling the vibes deep from within and watching them all fall into the power of the music was incredibly freeing. Throughout all of this, Makaya laid down steady beats that allowed everyone on stage to find the grooves and express themselves accordingly, following their intuitions while also recreating improvised moments by giving each riff, solo, and note their own expressive style. McCraven took to the mic a few times during the set and at one moment spoke about how music was the connecting force in this world full of chaos, how we're living in a post-truth world (my words, not his exactly), where we are possessed by screens and can no longer trust our eyes and ears due to the spread of misinformation. He went on to talk about the cruelty that exists and how we're moving further away from our humanity which is why it felt so special to be able to connect #IRL and find the bound through the beauty he's created with his music. After a brief tease, the band returned to the stage and hit us with some final, powerful jam sequences that sent us all home buzzing. To see McCraven round things out with some awe-inspiring fills really brought the house down and made it clear as to why he's a leading force in the scene. It was a solid reminder that music can be such an important and needed tool, how it can mend wounds, bring people together, and unite us through something bigger than ourselves. It was a night of spreading peace and positivity through music and that's something that will always be worthy of our time.
No comments:
Post a Comment