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Drummer, composer, and producer Makaya McCraven returns as part of the 2025–26 cohort of SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Directors, revisiting his “In These Times” ensemble featuring his core group, plus strings and special guests. This concert was filmed on May 22, 2026 — part of the SFJAZZ 2025-26 Season and broadcast on Fridays Live.

About this concert:

Drummer, composer, and producer Makaya McCraven returns as part of the 2025–26 cohort of SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Directors for four nights revisiting his In These Times ensemble featuring his core group, plus strings and special guests. Each performance will vary in approach and repertoire, recorded live and later creatively reworked for a future album release.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Paris-born, Chicago-based McCraven has powerful grooves and a passion for deep-water musical exploration in his blood. The son of free jazz luminary Stephen McCraven (Yusef Lateef, Sam Rivers, Archie Shepp), Makaya McCraven has assimilated the seemingly disparate, yet inextricably tied, influences of post-Coltrane jazz and hip-hop’s most experimental fringes into a unique multi-dimensional approach – a sonic signature that marries live performances with electronic manipulation and looping into a gritty, uncompromising, and seamless whole.
His critically lauded 2015 International Anthem debut In the Moment made Top 10 lists in DownBeat and PopMatters, setting the stage for a remarkable career path that continually embraces both discovery and legacy.
McCraven’s newest releases are four interconnected EPs entitled Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop — collectively called Off the Record — featuring performances by Ben LaMar Gay, Theon Cross, Junius Paul, Marquis Hill, Joel Ross, Jeremiah Chiu, Jeff Parker, Josh Johnson, Justefan, and Benjamin J. Shepherd.
Aptly described as a “beat scientist” more than a drummer, Makaya McCraven is a maverick musician and composer helping define what jazz means now.

PERSONNEL:

Makaya McCraven: drums
Junius Paul: bass
Matt Gold: guitar
Greg Ward: alto saxophone
Ben LaMar Gay: cornet
Jeremiah Chiu: modular synth
Lia Kohl: cello
Marta Sofia Honer: viola
Macia Stewart: violin
Zara Zaharieva: violin