Makaya McCraven - In The Moment (2015) [Hi-Res]

There is no shortage of all-improvised music events happening in Chicago, but many of them focus on so-called nonidiomatic free improvisation, where the players eschew conventional notions of melody, harmony, and rhythm in search of something decidedly abstract and new. Makaya McCraven seemed to be after something different, at least based on the results turning up on In the Moment, which are unabashedly groove oriented. The drummer meticulously edited and remixed the raw material; you can hear looped passages, bit of room ambience or dialogue reused and jiggered into different pieces, so that the jazz-driven sensibilities of his collaborators are transformed into something that occasionally sounds closer to instrumental hip-hop or taut funk. Among the players that joined the drummer are bassists Matt Ulery, Joshua Abrams, and Junius Paul, trumpeter Marquis Hill, guitarist Jeff Parker, vibist Justin Thomas, and tenor saxophonists De'Sean Jones and Tony Barba.

Makaya McCraven - drums, beats, loops & overdubs
Matt Ulery - double bass & bass guitar
Marquis Hill - trumpet
Junius Paul - double bass & bass guitar
Justefan - vibraphone
Jeff Parker - guitar
Joshua Abrams - double bass
De'Sean Jones - tenor saxophone
Tony Barba - tenor saxophone & electronics