Blue Note Records commissioned Makaya McCraven, like Madlib before him, to explore their vaults and create a remix album from the legendary albums they’ve released over the last 80-plus years. “Deciphering the Message” is McCraven’s wondrous collection of revisions, re-imaginings, and recreations. McCraven said that after he listened through the Blue note vaults and found the songs that piqued his interest, he started making sketches and drafts of what he wanted to do, then brought in a group of all-star players to contribute to the vision—Jeff Parker and Matt Gold on guitar; Joel Ross on vibraphone (incredible throughout the record); Marquis Hill on trumpet; Greg Ward on alto sax; Junius Paul on bass; and De’Sean Jones on tenor sax and flute.
“Deciphering the Message” is presented as a live set, with spoken introductions from Art Blakey and others interspersed throughout the album—and it flows like a live set, with a dynamic ebb and flow of moods and energy. For most of the songs on the album, McCraven has retained key parts of the originals, whether it’s the main theme or melody, a section of a solo, or the general vibe of the original track, there’s a lot of reverence in his approach. But he and the band are not overly reverent—on almost every song, the percussion is turned way up, with more complex rhythms and patterns and generally higher energy, and the band introduces new solos or themes to complement whatever they retained from the originals. What gets cut is often the original solo sections, with some of the originals reduced from nine-minute (or more) running times to two or three minutes. This is especially evident on tracks like “Tranquility” from Bobby Hutcherson (“Corner of the World”) and “Coppin’ the Haven” from Dexter Gordon (“At the Haven Coppin’”), where McCraven and the band take the originals as merely a starting point and build something almost brand new.
“Autumn in New York” from Kenny Burrell (“Spring in Chicago”) and “Frank’s Tune” by Jack Wilson (“De’Jeff’s Tune”) are two highlights from the album, though basically every track from “Deciphering the Message” is a highlight.
“De’Jeff’s Tune” has got a heavy beat and vibe, with a rolling bass and hard-hitting pattern from McCraven. Great guitar solo, flighty and fidgety, then electric piano and flute come in later, with a back-and-forth between the guitar and flute. Wilson’s original tune is a lively tune, and McCraven and the band take that and amp it up even more.
“Spring in Chicago” is McCraven taking “Autumn in New York,” a beautiful, quiet song by Kenny Burrell, and tweaking it slightly, using the original guitar figure that anchors the song and drafting from that, adding more prominent percussion, soft horns, and guitars that extend the original phrase like they’re expanding an equation. It’s a gorgeous song.
McCraven has said that he hopes people discover the original artists through listening to “Deciphering the Message,” and I have to say that one of the most enjoyable listening experiences I’ve had in the last year was going through the playlist of originals that Blue Note put up and comparing those to the remixes on “Deciphering the Message.” Hank Mobley’s “A Slice of the Top” is a swinging nine minutes with great solos and piano vamps. Bobby Hutcherson’s “Tranquility” has mournful trumpet and piano, and it’s all slow and very relaxed. Kenny Dorham’s “Monaco” is a wild tune, with a stark break near the beginning into a trot, lots of left-turns into group playing and semi-head-fake returns to the main theme. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ “Mr. Jin” is really fun, soft and slow, but then breaks into a different, swingier melody, a little moody, then chill, back and forth in its emotional tone.