Greg Spero - The Chicago Experiment (January 2022 Ropeadope Records)

Renegade independent label turned collaborative artist community Ropeadope announces the return of their acclaimed Experiment series, beginning with a 2022 release of The Chicago Experiment. The Experiment series began in June 2001 with The Philadelphia Experiment - featuring ?uestlove, Christian McBride, and Uri Caine with special guest Pat Martino. Widely known as a hallmark in progressive Jazz, The Philadelphia Experiment set a standard for artist-controlled improvisation in the studio. The Detroit Experiment, produced by Aaron Luis Levinson and Carl Craig, followed soon after with a stellar cast including Amp Fiddler, Geri Allen, Karriem Riggins and many more. 2007 saw the release of The Harlem Experiment, once again produced by Levinson, which dug into a crossover blend of Latin Jazz and Funk with a diverse cast including Steven Bernstein, Carlos Alomar, Don Byron, Taj Mahal, Olu Dara, Queen Esther, and Steve Berrios.

At a time when communities are physically disconnected, and even history is being disrupted by a global pandemic and restricted travel, Ropeadope returns to the series to highlight the musical legacy of cities around the globe. The Chicago Experiment was born of collaborations organized by Greg Spero (Spirit Fingers) and his hometown friends Makaya McCraven, Marquis Hill, Joel Ross, Irvin Pierce, Jeff Parker, and Darryl Jones.

"As we resume and expand this series, It could not be more appropriate to begin with Chicago; as we recall Barack Obama’s historic speech in 2008 that began a new era in US politics and culture, we are inspired by the people of Chicago and their contribution to the world. As we move forward, wrestling with the ugliness that moment exposed in our culture, we seek to celebrate the inevitable destiny that this awareness has invoked - one of common human striving for beauty and peace" (Louis Marks, Ropeadope)

Greg Spero’s Take:

The musical fabric of Chicago dates back beyond our lifetimes. The original home of the electric blues, Chicago's voices has carried its deep soul into genre after genre, producing artists of every idiom from gospel to hip hop, minting unique characters and artists bending and molding genres in new and evolving ways. Today is no exception, as some of the 21st century's most innovative and groundbreaking artists herald from Chicago. Makaya McCraven has been featured in the worlds biggest popular music outlets, Marquis Hill won the Thelonious Monk competition, and Joel Ross is commonly considered the most exciting young player in jazz today. These are just a few, but they come from a tight-knit group of individuals with a lineage of collaboration, improvisation, and exploration within their musical community.

For the past 15 years, Greg Spero and Makaya McCraven have been collaborators and supporters of each other's musical development. Darryl Jones, of the generation above Spero and McCraven, was introduced to Spero over a decade ago when co-composing for the record of another Chicago bass veteran Frank Russell. Years ago, Marquis and Spero road-tripped to Canada in Fareed Haque's RV for two nights at the Trane Jazz Club. The Velvet Lounge with Fred Anderson, the New Apartment Lounge with Vaughn Freeman, and the Jazz Showcase with Joe Segal have all been mainstays for these members of Chicago's new musical generation.

Through of the deep history of collaboration and community shared by Chicago artists, a distinct sound has made its appearance on the world stage. This sound is organic; you can hear it in the recordings of Spero and McCraven with Corey Wilkes and Junius Paul in recordings made 12 years ago at Close Up 2 in the south loop. It is genuine, improvisatory, and transparently soulful in a way that can only come as a natural expression of genuine history. Out of all the cities in the world, Chicago proved to be the ideal breeding ground for the next iteration of the Ropeadope Experiment series, following up the legendary Philadelphia Experiment with its new baby brother 20 years later, entitled The Chicago Experiment.

For this record, Spero brought in his long-time Chicago collaborators into the studio for 4 days of improvisation and performance. Spero came to the table with some compositions, but in the true spirit of Chicago, the sessions were filled with improvisation. The all-star group walked away from the 4 days with a huge slate of raw creative material, which Spero then distilled town into succinct groovy improvised compositions. The result is a record that embodies the true Chicago sound, and serves as a great example of the improvisational magic woven into the cultural fabric of Chicago's music scene. 

1. The Chant (feat. Joel Ross, Irvin Pierce, Darryl Jones, Marquis Hill, Jeff Parker) 04:26

2. Sizzle Reel (feat. Irvin Pierce, Jeff Parker) 03:26

3. Always Be (feat. Darryl Jones, Marquis Hill) 05:41

4. Cloud Jam (feat. Joel Ross, Marquis Hill) 03:20

5. Still Of Water (feat. Joel Ross, Irvin Pierce, Marquis Hill) 04:24

6. Double Take (feat. Joel Ross, Marquis Hill) 03:52

7. Maxwell Street (feat. Joel Ross, Irvin Pierce, Darryl Jones, Marquis Hill, Jeff Parker) 04:00

8. For Too (feat. Marquis Hill) 06:24

9. Rose Petal (feat. Darryl Jones) 03:57

10. Tiny Beat 01:34

11. Straight Shooter (feat. Darryl Jones, Jeff Parker) 03:53

Greg Spero (piano)

Makaya McCraven (drums)

Marquis Hill (trumpet)

Joel Ross (vibraphone)

Jeff Parker (guitar)

Darryl Jones (bass)

Irvin Pierce (tenor sax)

PRE-ORDER

Makaya McCraven - Universal Beings (INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM RECORDING October 26, 2018)

Paris-born, New England-raised, long-time Chicago-residing Makaya McCraven has been at the forefront of genre-redefining movements in jazz since 2015, when he introduced the world to his unique brand of ‘organic beat music’ on the breakout album In The Moment. Culled, cut, post-produced & re-composed by Makaya using recordings of free improvisation he collected over dozens of live sessions in Chicago, through incubation & experimentation In The Moment established a procedural blueprint that he has since been sharpening & developing. 

Honing this process on narrower sets of source material, Makaya followed up In The Moment with 2 mixtape releases – 2017’s Highly Rare, a lo-fi free-jazz-meets-hip-hop suite he made from a live 4-track recording, and June 2018’s Where We Come From (CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape), which he produced using live recordings from London jazz hub Total Refreshment Centre (captured at a showcase called CHICAGOxLONDON). 

Now, after 4+ years of refining his approach, Makaya McCraven puts forth an ambitious new work – Universal Beings – a culmination of concepts conceived by In The Moment, and his most elegant & articulated work yet.

Spurred by a desire to connect with old friends & new collaborators in places where similar spirits & diasporic jazz innovations are thriving, Makaya worked with International Anthem across late 2017 & early 2018 to setup intimate live sessions in New York & Chicago, and pop-up “studio” sessions in London & Los Angeles. Though the contexts and logistics were D.I.Y. (as they almost always are with IARC), the friends & friends-of-friends that Makaya was able to enlist are top tier players across the board. Some might call them super groups of “new” jazz musicians from their respective cities, with Makaya as a common denominator. But more importantly, collectively they make an inspiring display of the organic global inter-connectedness of the Black American music tradition in 2018. 

Physically spanning national & international borders to create an album that musically spans deep spiritual jazz meditations, pulsing post-bop grooves & straight-ahead boom-bap, Makaya McCraven defies the simplifications of revisionism & regionalism while celebrating the sounds, settings & stories that define the provenance of his work. Universal Beings projects an all-encompassing message of unity, peace & power by embracing transcendence in all its expressions.

1. A Queen's Intro

2. Holy Lands (feat. Brandee Younger)

3. Young Genius (feat. Joel Ross)

4. Black Lion (feat. Dezron Douglas) 02:56

5. Tall Tales (feat. Tomeka Reid)

6. Mantra

7. Pharaoh's Intro

8. Atlantic Black 09:10

9. Inner Flight

10. Wise Man, Wiser Woman (feat. Shabaka Hutchings)

11. Prosperity's Fear (feat. Junius Paul)

12. Flipped OUT

13. Voila (feat. Daniel Casimir)

14. Suite Haus (feat. Nubya Garcia)

15. The Newbies Lift Off (feat. Ashley Henry)

16. The Royal Outro

17. The Count Off (feat. Carlos Niño)

18. Butterss's (feat. Anna Butterss)

19. Turtle Tricks (feat. Jeff Parker)

20. The Fifth Monk

21. Brighter Days Beginning (feat. Josh Johnson)

22. Universal Beings (feat. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson)

Tracks 1-6 (New York Side) recorded live @ H0L0,

Ridgewood, Queens, NY, August 29th, 2017.

Brandee Younger (harp)

Joel Ross (vibraphone)

Tomeka Reid (cello)

Dezron Douglas (double bass)

Makaya McCraven (drums)

Tracks 7-11 (Chicago Side) recorded live @ Co-Prosperity Sphere,

Bridgeport, Chicago, IL, September 2nd, 2017.

*Shabaka Hutchings (tenor saxophone)

Tomeka Reid (cello)

Junius Paul (double bass)

Makaya McCraven (drums)

Tracks 12-16 (London Side) recorded @ Total Refreshment Studios,

Stoke Newington, London, UK, October 19th, 2017.

Nubya Garcia (tenor saxophone)

**Ashley Henry (Rhodes piano)

Daniel Casimir (double bass)

Makaya McCraven (drums)

Tracks 17-22 (Los Angeles Side) recorded @ Jeff Parker's house,

Altadena, Los Angeles County, CA, January 30th, 2018.

Josh Johnson (alto saxophone)

Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (violin)

Jeff Parker (guitar)

Anna Butterss (double bass)

Carlos Niño (percussion)

Makaya McCraven (drums)

*Shabaka Hutchings appears courtesy of Verve Label Group

**Ashley Henry appears courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited

Recorded & Mixed by David Allen & Dave Vettraino

Artwork by Damon Locks

Insert Portrait by Fabrice Bourgelle

Insert Design by Craig Hansen

Produced by Makaya McCraven

Executive Production by Scott McNiece

Makaya McCraven - Where We Come From (CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape) INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM RECORDING 2018

1. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - Halls 03:49

2. LeFtO (feat. Soweto Kinch) - McCraven On The Mic 03:09

3. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - Ox Tales 06:22

4. Don Leisure (Darkhouse Family) - Suite For Artis Gilmore 03:02

5. Earl Jeffers (Darkhouse Family) - Jupiter Jawn 03:15

6. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Kamaal Williams - The Oracle 03:18

7. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - The Bounce! 02:53

8. Ben LaMar Gay - King Drive, '86 Cutlass, No Plates 03:38

9. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - Run 'Dem 07:27

10. Emma-Jean Thackray - Too Shy 03:02

11. Quiet Dawn - Drums&Bruk&FeelTheVibe 03:03

12. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - Birthday Solo 01:21

13. Lexus Blondin - TRC Thank You Outro 00:43

14. Makaya McCraven, Soweto Kinch, Kamaal Williams - Where We Come From 01:11

Recorded live at Total Refreshment Centre 18 & 19 October 2017 (CHICAGOxLONDON).

Live recordings mixed at Total Refreshment Studios 20 & 21 October 2017.

Remixed live at Total Refreshment Centre 22 October 2017 (FRESH ROASTED: Live Beat-Making & Battle).

Performed by Makaya McCraven - drums; Soweto Kinch - saxophone, voice; Theon Cross - tuba; Joe Armon-Jones - Rhodes piano; Nubya Garcia - saxophone; Kamaal Williams - keys.

Remix Production & Additional Overdubs by LeFtO; Don Leisure & Earl Jeffers (Darkhouse Family); Ben LaMar Gay; Emma-Jean Thackray; Quiet Dawn; Lexus Blondin.

Mixtape Production by Makaya McCraven

Recorded & Mixed by Dave Vettraino & David Allen

Recording Assisted by Matteo Musetti

Edited by Makaya McCraven

Mastered by David Allen

Photography by Fabrice Bourgelle

Design by Raimund Wong

Associate Production by Alejandro Ayala, Tina Edwards & Lexus Blondin

Executive Production by Scott McNiece

Special Thanks: Will Savery, Steven King, Garrett Shelton, Lauren Kasper, Mark Pallman, David Burkhart, Lori Mendoza, Angel Bat Dawid, Ken Okuda, Simbad, Stella Kun, Emma Warren, Lexy Morvaridi, Oran Maneti, Will Shanahan, Kim Alpert, Junius Paul, Jaimie Branch, Tomeka Reid, Alexander Hawkins, Tina Richard, Aly Gillani, Kristian 'Capitol K' Robinson, and Gus.

Mast - Thelonious Sphere Monk (WORLD GALAXY RECORDS 2018)

MAST’s Thelonious Sphere Monk is a cosmic journey reinterpreting the great Thelonious Monk Song Book in celebration of his 100th birthday. MAST tackles sixteen Monk compositions, including the acclaimed "Round Midnight," "Blue Monk," "Straight No Chaser," "Epistrophy" and "Well You Needn’t." As well as more obscure titles like "Misterioso," "Pannonica," "Friday The 13th" and "Bemsha Swing." MAST, aka Tim Conley, pays homage to the significant history of Thelonious Monk and his esteemed compositions while bringing them into the future using modern electronic bleeps, bloops, and beats. This is done in concert with the Low End Theory, Los Angeles beat culture Conley is a part of. Harmonious with the mystical and metaphysical hand painted cover art by Japanese artist Tokio Aoyama, each track created is a unique world unto itself and the listener travels from one musical planet to the next on the spaceship Monk. 

The sixteen track LP features a diverse cast of extraordinary musicians contributing instrumental virtuosity, which these Thelonious Monk compositions demand. NYC tenor saxophonist Chris Speed (Tim Berne, Jim Black) is haunting on "Well You Needn’t." Chicago drummer Makaya McCraven bashes and percolates on “Nutty” and “Let’s Cool One." As the album's lone piano protagonist, virtuoso Brian Marsella (John Zorn, Cyro Baptista) rises to the challenge and shines on "Ask Me Now," “'Round Midnight” and "Straight No Chaser." 

Philly born upright bassist Jason Fraticelli (Taylor McFerrin, Mark Guiliana) is expansive with endless improvisational ideas on "Blue Monk." And don’t forget the horns! Trombonist Jonah Levine, trumpeter Dan Rosenboom (Burning Ghosts) and baritone/alto saxophonist Gavin Templeton (Nels Cline) put power into Thelonious Monk’s prodigious melodies and flourish blistering solos on "Evidence", "Bemsha Swing," "Epistrophy," "Nutty" and "Let’s Cool One." MAST is an LA transplant via Philadelphia and a guitarist by trade. He approaches his six string leads on the album antithetically like middle-eastern influenced "Bemsha Swing," acoustically intimate "Friday the 13th," astral space fusion "Straight No Chaser" and melancholic jazz ballad "Pannonica." 

In totality, the intention of Thelonious Sphere Monk is equal parts depth and fun. The jazz purist or Thelonious Monk scholar will find each rendition to be immediately recognizable and performed at a high level, yet blossomed and opened in ways not yet imagined or sonically explored. To the unfamiliar jazz listener, the underlying layers of joyous fun, wit, and playfulness, which Thelonious Monk himself embodied, will hopefully inspire that listener to further explore the rich history of this cherished American pianist and composer. Thelonious Sphere Monk.

1. Misterioso (Reprise) 01:48

2. Evidence (feat. Jonah Levine Collective, Dan Rosenboom, Gavin Templeton) 04:50

3. Bemsha Swing 03:43

4. Ask Me Now (feat. Brian Marsella) 05:17

5. Well You Needn’t (feat. Chris Speed) 04:59

6. Epistrophy (feat. Dan Rosenboom, Gavin Templeton) 04:05

7. ‘Round Midnight (feat. Brian Marsella) 05:38

8. Blue Monk (feat. Jason Fraticelli) 04:21

9. Oska T 01:28

10. Nutty (feat. Makaya McCraven, Dan Rosenboom, Gavin Templeton) 05:06

11. Straight No Chaser (feat. Brian Marsella) 04:23

12. Friday the 13th 03:16

13. Let’s Cool One (feat. Makaya McCraven, Jonah Levine Collective) 03:50

14. Pannonica 04:24

15. Trinkle Tinkle 05:47

16. Misterioso 04:10

Tim Conley - Guitar, Bass, Keys, Synths, Drum Programming, Production 

Chris Speed - Tenor Sax (track 5) 

Dan Rosenboom - Trumpet (tracks 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13) 

Gavin Templeton - Alto Sax, Bari Sax (tracks 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13) 

Jonah Levine - Trombone (tracks 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13) 

Jason Fraticelli - Upright Bass (track 8) 

Brian Marsella - Piano (tracks 4, 7, 11) 

Makaya McCraven - Drums (tracks 10, 13) 

Anwar Marshall - Drums (track 2) 

Mastering - Daddy Kev at Cosmic Zoo, Los Angeles, CA

Makaya McCraven - Highly Rare (INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM 2017)

It’s titled Highly Rare not only for the format of its initial release (a limited-edition run of cassettes packaged in screen-printed, string-sealed, firecracker red envelopes), but foremost for the context of the source material’s capture. 

The sounds were recorded to four track cassette tape at a DIY show packed into the confines of Chicago dive Danny's Tavern, a place definitely not known for having live bands, let alone live recordings. It's a place known to vinyl heads both locally and globally as a legendary hub in the crate digger diaspora. It's the place where Jeff Parker learned how to DJ. It's the place where Dante Carfagna held down a rare soul party for over a decade, where he first dropped public needles on 45s that would eventually make compilations he curated for Numero Group and Chocolate Industries. It's the place where DJ Shadow still does sets on the low when he rolls through town. 

And on one highly rare night in November 2016 Danny's was the place where we invited an "International Anthem All Stars" type of improvising ensemble (Makaya McCraven, Junius Paul, Nick Mazzarella and Ben Lamar Gay) to play in support of DJ sets by LeFtO, who was in transit from Belgium, hitting local spots under the direction of Chicago scene sage King Hippo. Damn-near 0 degrees and just days after the death sentence of the American presidential election, the sounds the musicians conjured were thick with the bitter cold darkness that hung heavy in the air, punctuated with moments of joyful determination – the kind that can only be accessed when such impending doom triggers passionate adrenalized bursts by creators in survival mode. 

Cogent as the cultural context of that November night at Danny's is the compositional prowess that Makaya exercised in post to make Highly Rare the impressive final piece it is. Demonstrating a deeply attuned development of the production approach he forayed in the creation of his 2015 breakout In The Moment, Makaya again took stereo mixes of the full band improvisations into his lab to edit, loop, layer and arrange the tracks, tediously constructing a vivid new slate of sounds that tell an infinitely more colorful tale than the straight takes ever could. The rough and raw edges of low fidelity cassette recording combine with the elegance and wit of Makaya McCraven's production touch to make Highly Rare a highly relevant artifact in the ever-unfolding history of Chicago style creative music.

1. Danny's Intro 01:59

2. The Locator 04:10

3. Above & Beyond 03:50

4. Venus Rising 07:04

5. Icy Lightning 01:52

6. Left Fields 11:28

7. R.F.J. III 07:00

8. Early Bird Once Again 03:46

Makaya McCraven – drums, producer & arranger

Junius Paul – bass guitar

Nick Mazzarella – alto saxophone

Ben Lamar Gay – cornet, diddley bow, voice

with cameos by

Gira Dahnee – background voice

LeFtO - turntables