Makaya McCraven Opening Act: Theon Cross

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Enormous range, excelling at both chill-out backbeats and pulverizing rapid-fire climaxes.

—Rolling Stone

Dogged exploration of sound, space, and postproduction composition.

—Chicago Reader

Makaya McCraven is a beat scientist. The bleeding-edge drummer, producer, and sonic collagist is one of Chicago’s savviest cultural players and a multitalented force whose inventive process and intuitive, cinematic style defy categorization.

After studying with jazz luminaries Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, and Yusef Lateef and developing his chops in Chicago’s burgeoning scene, McCraven released his breakthrough albums In the Moment (2015) and Universal Beings (2018) to widespread acclaim. The dramatic statements quickly launched McCraven into the vanguard of internationally known jazz artists and the niche genre of next-wave composer-producers blurring the boundaries of jazz and electronic music.

His newest album, In These Times, an 11-song suite created over seven years, blends past, present, and future into elegant polytextural arrangements of jazz-rooted, post-genre 21^st-century folk music.