Makaya McCraven, whose album In These Times, was released a year ago last month and is currently performing music from the album on tour across the US, has just released a video of him performing the track “This Place That Place” live at Public Records in Brooklyn ahead of the album’s release. McCraven had assembled a unique ensemble with a string quartet to perform special arrangements of songs from his new album for the Brooklyn event captured in the video by director Matthew Edginton. You can watch it here.

Makaya McCraven, who performs at the Knockdown Center in Queens, NY, this Saturday as part of the Outline Festival, is the guest on the latest episode of the International Anthem Podcast. McCraven spoke with host Ayana Contreras from his Chicago home about the reception of his acclaimed new album, In These Times, and revisits the concepts, intentions, growth, and changes the work encompassed along his decade-long journey of making it. You can hear their conversation here.

Congratulations to Cécile McLorin Salvant, Makaya McCraven, and Jeff Parker, each of whom has won the Deutscher Jazzpreis in Germany. Salvant won for International Vocal Album for her Nonesuch debut album, Ghost Song; McCraven for International Drums/Percussion; and Parker for International String Instrument. Winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Bremen today.

Congratulations to Cécile McLorin Salvant, Sam Gendel, Jeff Parker, and Makaya McCraven, who have all been nominated for Deutscher Jazzpreis in Germany: Salvant for International Vocal Album for her Ghost Song; Gendel and Parker for International String Instruments; and McCraven for International Drums/Percussion. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in Bremen on April 27.

Chicago-based percussionist, composer and producer Makaya McCraven stopped by Amoeba Music in San Francisco for a shopping trip and a chat for Amoeba’s What’s in My Bag? series, in which he picks up music by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Billy Cobham, Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela, Yusef Lateef & Archie Shepp, NNAMDÏ, Charles Stepney, Thelonius Monk & John Coltrane, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers featuring Wynton Marsalis, Harvey Mason, Augustus Pablo & King Tubby, Bobby Broom, Joshua Abrams' Cloud Script, and Miles Davis. You can take a look inside here.

Makaya McCraven was on NPR's World Cafe to talk with host Raina Douris about his new album, In These Times, and share two tracks from it—the title track and "The Calling"—performed live at his 2020 debut concert at Chicago's Symphony Center. You can hear their conversation and the performances here.

Makaya McCraven stopped by KEXP in Seattle to perform four songs from his new album, In These Times: "Dream Another," "In These Times," "The Knew Untitled," and "This Place That Place." He was joined by Jeff Parker on guitar, Junius Paul on bass, and De'Sean Jones on saxophone, flute, and EWI. You can watch the session, including a conversation with host Marco Collins, here.

Makaya McCraven has released a Hi-Res live EP, International Anthem @ Public Records (Volume 3), available exclusively on Qobuz. The set was recorded live at Brooklyn's Public Records on September 19, 2022, for which McCraven assembled a unique ensemble with a string quartet to perform special arrangements of songs from his new album, In These Times. "It was really fun doing pared down versions of these songs in such an intimate space," McCraven says, "especially with so many close friends and family in the house." You can watch a live video of "Dream Another" from the set here.

"A lot of the music I write, I write at the piano first," Makaya McCraven tells WBUR's Here & Now in a chat with producer Chris Bentley about his new album, In These Times. "But then also sometimes I am writing in more technological ways, where I might be sampling myself or something that happened. And then it's like, 'how do I put this all together? How do I make it cohesive?' And then that becomes a hurdle, and the hurdle becomes a space for me to become creative." You can hear their conversation here. McCraven is now touring the US, with shows in Colorado, Oregon, California, Washington, and New Mexico through October.

Makaya McCraven's new album, In These Times, is out now on International Anthem / Nonesuch / XL. It is the album McCraven’s been trying to make since he started making records, an appropriately career-defining body of work. The eleven-song suite was created over seven-plus years, as McCraven strived to fuse odd-meter compositions from his working songbook with orchestral, large-ensemble arrangements and the edit-heavy “organic beat music” he’s honed over the years. With contributions from over a dozen musicians and creative partners from his tight-knit circle of collaborators—including Jeff Parker, Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, and Marquis Hill—In These Times highlights McCraven’s gift for collapsing space, destroying borders, and blending past, present, and future into poly-textural arrangements of post-genre, jazz-rooted 21st-century folk music.

Makaya McCraven has released “The Fours,” the latest single and music visual from his forthcoming new album, In These Times, out September 23. You can watch the video, directed by Ryosuke Tanzawa, here. McCraven will perform music from the album at Public Records in Brooklyn next Monday, September 19, with a special, all-star line-up including Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, De’Sean Jones and the string quartet from the album: Marta Sofia Honer, Macie Stewart, Zara Zaharieva, and Lia Kohl.

The Big Ears Festival has announced the line-up for its 10th anniversary running to take place in venues throughout downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, March 30–April 2, 2023, including Devendra Banhart, Sam Gendel, Mary Halvorson, Makaya McCraven, and Cécile McLorin Salvant.