Four years ago, the Chicago-based drummer and composer Makaya McCraven released "In These Times," a critically acclaimed record that saw the bandleader going big and working with more than a dozen collaborators on an album that felt like his defining statement.
McCraven has spent the past decade as a key figure of the vibrant jazz scene in Chicago. On his records he acts as a "beat scientist" by taking live recordings of his largely improvised sets and manipulating them the way a hip-hop producer manipulates samples from dusty old R&B and jazz records.
"By my process of taking a real moment and filtering it through this other creative process, it's like entering a dream state," he said. "The real message is, 'Come meet me here at the crux of the unknown and let's have an experience.'"
"In These Times" took McCraven all over the world and saw him performing in large scale venues like symphony centers and auditoriums, so it was interesting that on its 2025 follow up he decided to go small. His latest LP, "Off The Record," is a collection of four EPs that were all recorded in smaller, more intimate settings than a lot of the rooms he played while touring "In These Times."
"I'm really proud of the fact that I was able to play those large venues," he said. "But I felt like I was missing the intimacy of the smaller shows that felt kind of underground and a little less precious."
On February 23, McCraven will perform two shows at The Pinhook in downtown Durham, a decidedly small and intimate space. Joining him will be long-time collaborators Marquis Hill on trumpet and Junius Paul on bass.
"Both of these guys are my brothers, and I really look up to them," he said. "They're both artistic forces in their own right, so I'm always excited when I have this kind of unit. Our sets are really open and we'll do a lot of exploring."
As an improviser, McCraven says that something magic often happens when he's playing smaller venues like rock clubs.
"With this record, I really wanted to highlight that as something important right now," he said. "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."
Makaya McCraven performs at The Pinhook on February 23 at both 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
