Makaya McCraven: Deciphering the Message

For his new remix album, Deciphering The Message, Chicago-based drummer and producer Makaya McCraven dug into the vaults of legendary jazz label Blue Note Records to put a modern spin on classics by Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Kenny Burrell and Eddie Gale. Though the album gathers songs from several years of Blue Note history, it plays like a cohesive set, all in one show in one place. "When I put it all together, I wanted to create a narrative that made the listener feel like they were falling into that space or movement," McCraven says. "I really tried to make it a record, not just a series of tracks." And because the musician has always been a collaborative artist, "Deciphering The Message" also features some newly recorded elements from the likes of vibraphonist Joel Ross, trumpeter Marquis Hill, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, guitarists Matt Gold and Jeff Parker, bassist Junius Paul and De'Sean Jones on tenor sax and flute McCraven hopes "Deciphering The Message" is both educational and just a good listen. "I always want to make music that speaks to people in a way that makes them nod or feel something or takes them somewhere," he says. "I also hope that if they have that music, they'll look at the source of it. The music we're making now is part of the same path and is connected, so I want to honor the tradition and release something that people can resonate to."