Makaya McCraven - In These Times (Indie Exclusive Ivory Vinyl) Vinyl LP

In These Times is the long-awaited new album from Chicago-based percussionist, composer, producer, and International Anthem mainstay Makaya McCraven. While “new” on release, it’s been in the works since shortly after his 2015 label debut In The Moment. In the years between, McCraven released six acclaimed projects—including the breakout Universal Beings and his reimagining of Gil Scott-Heron’s We’re New Again—but none have so fully embodied his artistic ethos. This is the record he’s been striving toward since he began, a patient, ambitious, and career-defining statement.

Built over more than seven years, the 11-track suite blends McCraven’s odd-meter originals with lush large-ensemble arrangements and the edit-heavy “organic beat music” that has become his signature. Recorded across five studios and four live spaces, with contributions from core collaborators like Jeff Parker, Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, and Marquis Hill, the project was meticulously shaped through extensive post-production at home. That he distilled its sweeping scale into just 41 minutes of deeply emotive, highly communicative music is a feat of both craftsmanship and vision—marking an evolution for McCraven the producer, and a defining moment for McCraven the composer.

At once expansive and concise, In These Times is a striking new peak for an artist The New York Times has called “one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality,” and more recently, a “cultural synthesizer.” It is an elegant fusion of past, present, and future—a poly-textural, jazz-rooted, post-genre folk music for the 21st century. In pushing into uncharted territory, McCraven offers his clearest statement yet, collapsing space, crossing borders, and creating music that is as forward-looking as it is timeless.