Chicago and London both have fresh, outward-looking jazz scenes built on improvisation and melded to hip-hop; this gig was part of a series intended to bring the key players together.
First up, tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia, a twentysomething praised for her multifarious approaches to groove, flanked by musicians including double-bassist Daniel Casimir and beset initially by sound problems that muddied her golden tones. A laidback presence within an energetic sound that referenced Afrobeat and grime, Garcia’s momentum-building solos held attention throughout a set that often seemed to drift.
Not so that of drummer, producer and bandleader Makaya McCraven, a so-called beat scientist whose stick-blurring technique recalled the crisp, complex patterns of Chicago house, and whose indie-rock spirit was mirrored by a band of hotshots on keys, guitars and skronking sax. Here on the back of Universal Beings, a fourth album recorded with different musicians in four different cities, McCraven and his skittering, malleable rhythms bridged genres and locales with new magic.
A final free-for-all jam featuring the likes of Garcia, trumpeter Jaimie Branch and guitarist Shirley Tetteh drove the point home.
