Review: Makaya McCraven at AyurPrana Listening Room
What happens when a hot streak doesn’t end? When does a hot streak turn instead into sustained excellence?
With athletes, that type of career arc results in placement in that particular sport’s hall of fame. For gamblers, it means never having to worry about retirement again. And in the world of music, a run like that can culminate in material wealth and even universal recognition as the best of the best.
Drummer, composer, and master studio manipulator Makaya McCraven is in the midst of one of these legendary stretches that shows no sign of ending. Every album he’s released from 2015’s In the Moment through Off the Record last fall has resulted in effusive gushing from critics and fans alike.
When McCraven’s show at AyurPrana Listening Room was announced, tickets were gobbled up as McCraven’s followers were excited at the prospect to take in his work up-close in such an intimate venue, especially since McCraven usually plays fancy settings in much bigger cities than Asheville.
McCraven shared his impetus for this smaller venue tour in an interview with WUNC:
“I'm really proud of the fact that I was able to play those large venues, but I felt like I was missing the intimacy of the smaller shows that felt kind of underground and a little less precious … With [Off the Record], I really wanted to highlight that as something important right now. We're currently in this AI moment where so many things aren't real. There's something to me about being in a real space with other people experiencing a moment that feels special and won't be replicated ever again.”
A big point of curiosity before the Feb. 24 show was how McCraven would choose to present his music in a smaller space such as AyurPrana. His process of recording live improvisation and sculpting those recordings in the studio into something new, Miles Davis/Teo Macero-style, has been well documented. Would this performance consist of completely improvised material, or would it adhere closer to studio renditions?
The answer was both: a blend of familiar riffs and mind-bendingly funky grooves alongside new, spontaneously created music. Though what stood out the most on this night was McCraven as a bandleader. His companions for this tour featured bassist Junius Paul and Marquis Hill on trumpet, both of whom are skilled and imaginative players as well as celebrated solo artists in their own right. McCraven piloted his bandmates through displays of exploratory virtuosity while also demonstrating a seemingly otherworldly connection in their ability to shift tempos and rhythms on a dime with only a glance.
The set’s opening number, “Away” from Off the Record, provided the first glimpse of how tight this trio is. McCraven began by establishing a sampled loop while Hill and Paul played bells and other hand-held percussion instruments. Hill then proceeded to play long, sustained notes on the trumpet, shifting between three different microphones to provide distinct effects. Soon, McCraven and Paul joined in to establish a dynamic groove — the first of many throughout the show — before Hill began playing a simple melody over a new sample of what sounded like a mountain stream. After playing this figure for a while, the group instantly switched to a faster, harder beat and built to a magnificent crescendo with McCraven leading the way to the song’s explosive apex.
Another highlight of the performance was an improvised piece, which began with McCraven moving through a series of samples pulled from the radio airwaves before focusing on a classic rock guitar riff that was recognizable but too short to be identified. The trio then improvised off of that motif for a stretch of time. Then, mid-song, McCraven traversed through radio broadcasts once again and created a new loop for the group to create a heartbreakingly sweet passage. Hill’s solo over this motif was ebullient and lovely. Somehow, they shifted moods again, ending the song by creating an impromptu score for a noir film as Hill’s lonely boat horn trumpet made it sound as if we had been transported from the AyurPrana Listening Room to gangsters assembling at the harbor docks. This entire piece was complex and captivating and pulled off with astonishing dexterity.
At times, McCraven provided commentary in between songs, describing the previous piece as “jamming with the radio.” He introduced another song, “Lullaby,” with a long story about his mother, the Hungarian singer Ágnes Zsigmondi, who toured Europe for years with the band Kolinda. He recounted how she would sing a particular passage from a longer song over and over again to put him to sleep at night. For this version of “Lullaby,” McCraven played his drums with what looked like bundles of reeds or dried stalks, which sounded more bucolic than the metallic tones produced by standard percussion brushes. Hill played the song’s melody on a muted trumpet, which, combined with McCraven’s reed strokes, created a breathtakingly gorgeous vibe.
One of McCraven’s monologues was a riff on how improvisation is life, while another ended abruptly in silence, causing the entire crowd to freeze and hold their collective breath. After this lengthy stretch of silent unity ended with laughter and cheers, McCraven went into another rap about AI, emphasized by his one-liner, “I’m not afraid of robots!”
The show concluded with “News Feed,” another selection from Off the Record, which again displayed the band’s penchant for wickedly deep funk. Within the song, Hill was given a showcase moment before giving way to a series of deliciously wild bass runs by Paul, followed by a bass and drum duet, and concluding with McCraven taking over and pounding on the drums as if they owed him money.
For this performance, McCraven led the trio with vision and created a dynamic context for all three to excel as individuals and as a unit. Witnessing McCraven in action, one can’t help but contemplate grandiose statements, such as “the future of jazz has arrived” or “Makaya McCraven is the jazz prince who was promised.”
(Photos by Jonny Leather)
