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    Mayaka McCraven showcases the breadth of his creative approach on four new EPs

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    By Jamie Ludwig

    Copyright chicagoreader

    Mayaka McCraven showcases the breadth of his creative approach on four new EPs

    Makaya McCraven is famous for his ambition—he made his name with a sophisticated musical approach that involved crafting compositions in the studio by rearranging live recordings of his band and overdubbing new performances onto them. But even by his standards, his latest project says “go big or go home.” The jazz drummer, producer, and self-described “sonic collagist” is dropping four simultaneous EPs through International Anthem, available individually on October 31 and as a double-LP collection called Off the Record on October 10. Each EP is built from live improvisations with a different complement of musicians, and the constituent recordings were made between 2015 and 2025. Each can stand on its own, but listening to them in succession lets you discover where they align and where they diverge, sometimes wildly and unexpectedly. McCraven made the brash, futuristic Techno Logic with UK tubaist Theon Cross (who also plays electronics) and Chicago multi-instrumentalist Ben Lamar Gay (on cornet, synths, diddley bow, and more). They captured live sets in London, Berlin, and New York, and the drummer completed the record at his Chicago studio. McCraven assembled the sleek, chill soundscapes and danceable jams on The People’s Mixtape from recordings of an ensemble that includes bassist Junius Paul, vibraphonist Joel Ross, modular synth player Jeremiah Chiu, and trumpeter Marquis Hill. The dark grooves of Hidden Out! come from two 2017 dates at the Hideout with different combos (one with Paul and guitarist Jeff Parker, the other with Paul, Hill, and saxophonist Josh Johnson). Over the next eight years, McCraven painstakingly edited the recordings, adding overdubs on percussion, keys, synths, vibraphone, and guitar, but the final mixes of “Awaze” and “New Feed” don’t feel overworked—the sounds pop so vividly that you can practically see the Hideout’s wood-paneled walls. PopUp Shop revisits McCraven’s Los Angeles debut in 2015, when he played with Parker, vibraphonist Justefan, and bassist Benjamin J. Shepherd. It’s the sunniest and most upbeat of the four EPs.

    Makaya McCraven Tom Skinner opens. Wed 10/1, 8 PM, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport, $33.52, 17

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