Makaya McCraven has been working on In These Times for almost as long as we’ve known him. Since 2015, McCraven has been on a prolific streak, releasing a host of varying projects, often to critical acclaim, while steadily garnering that complicated yet hallowed mantle as one of those artists who is keeping jazz “alive.” And all along the way, the seeds for In These Times were being conceived, written, performed, recorded, spliced, reimagined. It’s immediately introduced as the statement he’s been wanting to make, which comes with a certain promotional twist: “Oh, you like everything else this guy has done? well this is what was really cooking in the background.” But as formidable as McCraven’s catalog has already become, it’s true. In These Times feels like his big statement. It delivers.
Music
The Mars Volta on going “pop” and those Kanye West rumors
The Mars Volta have spoke to NME about their new “pop” album and the rumors of them working with Kanye West. Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López released their new self-titled album as The Mars Volta today (September 16) – a record that draws influence from the likes of Van Morrison, Slade, David Bowie’s later work … Read more