UNIVERSAL BEINGS E & F SIDES | MAKAYA MCCRAVEN

9.3.20 McCraven is certainly a beat scientist. Just give this swirling stew of out jazz, groove, fusion and experimentation, that never approaches cacophonous, a deep listen. Universal is a captivating and unpredictable album. The ghosts of Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef are definitely present.

From a David Greene at NPR: Makaya McCraven calls himself a beat scientist, so it's no surprise when you ask about his childhood, you hear he was pretty much surrounded by rhythm.

"Rehearsals at our house, banging on drums since I was able to hold a drumstick, sleeping in my dad's bass drum," he recalls. "There was no front head, and a little pillow in there. And you could just kinda go in and lay down if you're small enough."

Birds were singing on his mom's porch in the woods of Western Massachusetts when he connected for the interview. McCraven grew up there and also all over, living an international life. He was born in Paris to two artists: his dad, an American drummer, and his mom, a Hungarian singer. Giants of jazz were household names.

"Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, being around guys like Yusef Lateef," he remembers. "So those are my memories: being at gigs, being at concerts, backstage at a venue, smoky places, stowed away. My kids get similar [experiences] these days."

MAKAYA MCCRAVEN: THE BRAIN BEHIND THE MIND-BENDING BEATS

In 2018, Makaya McCraven released Universal Beings, a widely acclaimed double album. Now, a new documentary of the same name shows how he made it and he's gone back through the old material from that record to put out another album: Universal Beings E&F Sides.

NPR's David Greene spoke with Makaya McCraven about how he created a new album out of old recordings, the relationship between live and recorded music and his thoughts on the word "jazz." Listen in the audio player above and read on for a transcript of their conversation. . .