Makaya McCraven – Universal Beings

Its a bomb. Absolute lovely free-modern jazz. Pressing is top quality, love the insert with the black&white photos.

Fantastic collage of different recordings in different famous cities with different musicians. The sound is great throughout on a narrower soundstage but more than pleasing.
The Pallas pressing, as with many of my 140g IARC lps, is rather mediocre due to warpings on all 4 sides. Warping seems to be an reoccurring problem at Pallas at least on jobs for IARC. Need to get the iron out again. What a pity!

Ridiculously good music and a superb pressing. This is rocketing up my list of all-time favorite modern jazz recordings.

Fantastic clean pressing. Sound for a live session is pretty good and it’s fun to listen to but not audiophile heaven. And the stereo image is mostly very centered and not that wide

Absolutely gorgeous pressing by Pallas. Not even a pop. Good sound dynamics. So glad I finally got this. The jazz sound of now.

I'm torn about McCraven. I like the dedication, the raw poetry and the muscular energy of his music. It‘s truly breathing the joy of creation!

But I don‘t know. Sometimes, his grooves are so thick and the vibe so masculine that it sounds like a heavy dude fart hanging in the air in a club, sabotaging the romantic tension between two lovers. I mean, who wants to smell a bro fart when you want to enjoy a deeper connection? This is the feeling I get from his style. I want to dig his enthusiam and artistry, but there I am, suddenly thinking:

"Sounds like pressure farting in a sticky room."

And then I have this vivid image in my mind: two young lovers with pleasently adult sensibilities visiting a McCraven Live Performance. Enjoying the lifestyle attitude of the place. McCraven starting to play with his band. Getting more intense. Starting to improvise, riding the moment. Air getting thick with excitment. And then all that masculine energy floods like a sweaty fart wave over the audience. The lovers are engulfed. BUT! Her guy is loving it! He is hypnotised by the heavy drum grooves and alpha male energy! ... and she's subtly turned off. Observing the transformation of her man. Like he's back in college, dwelling in those sticky dorm rooms again, playing beer pong and smoking dope. A rather unexpected regress indeed! But she plays along in the bro fart atmosphere. Nodding her head to the beat. Dancing with a forced smile. Would be strange to stop having fun on a nice evening, wouldn‘t it? So outwardly, everyone has fun, and they DO have fun! Yet inside, there is this tiny residue of disgust. But she can’t put a finger on it. Then, witnessing her spellbound boyfriend, a thought intrudes her mind:

„He REALLY enjoys farting.“

Well, of course he does, but the sudden flash of insight hits her with unpleasent force. Like a squirmy idea you don’t want to have, but can’t stop thinking about. The gig goes on, and in the end, it‘s really nothing serious at all. The love will not fade. Of course it won‘t! But after the night ends, the creeping rift between them will linger for a few days. Erotic tension might be a bit subdued. „What‘s wrong?“ „Oh nothing, just too much work...“. The emotional corrosion will hang in the air like, yeah, a stubborn fart. Then everything will get back to normal for the two lovers, because time will sweep that smelly episode unter the rug of oblivion. And so their adult progress can continue.

Well, I don‘t know what to make of my reaction. It‘s definitely not McCravens fault, but mine. Because really, he‘s creating beautiful music. It‘s all just a bit…bro farty, you know?

Makaya can play, for sure... and the sound is nice on this - although my copy was scratched and jumping first time out, so I had to return it - but this music is pretty much dead on the slab, to me... too many live loops that go nowhere. There's lots of 'mood', but very little inspiration. It's just a 'meh' from me. There's far more interesting jazz out there currently being played and made, and let's hope the direction jazz takes over the next decade is much richer and more vibrant than this! This is a dead end.

Late to the party. But this GREAT music on my copy(3rd pressing), is as far as i can understand pressed at pallas, nr 51823.Other matrix doesnt match either.
Just decided as mr december to get this, again GREAT release on vinyl. Some surface noice, but music gets the attention.
Happy customer.

As if you needed another reason to buy this album on vinyl...the packaging is superb. Beautiful gatefold with art all over the place, including well-designed innersleeves and a record label band around part of the gatefold. Thanks to International Anthem Recording Company for presenting this amazing project.

I must have streamed this a couple dozen times before I realized I had to own it. One of the best jazz albums I've heard in a while. I was able to see the band this year and I can't wait to catch them again soon.

Just received and listened to the second pressing of this on black vinyl. My copy is super quiet and very clean. Great pressing and separation of instruments. The vinyl soundstages very well, but whether you buy this on vinyl or stream it, you should listen to this album ... it's where jazz (and hip-hop, and R&B/soul) is headed for the next decade, and it's a great direction.