The 2018 release of Universal Beings, in many ways, feels like the moment that the dam broke for both Makaya McCraven and International Anthem.On one hand, it’s a four-sided communal showcase of the inter-city exchange that had started to develop in the “new jazz” hubs, collecting group improvisations from New York, London, Chicago, and Los Angeles.On the other, it is an editing and post-production masterclass – the MVP of McCraven’s “organic beat music” concept – and a landmark moment where his cut-splice-reassembly chops shine as brightly as the players themselves.The musicians on the album were a combined who’s-who and who’s-gonna-be-who of their respective scenes: Brandee Younger (harp), Joel Ross (vibraphone), Tomeka Reid (cello), Dezron Douglas (double bass), Shabaka Hutchings (tenor saxophone), Junius Paul (double bass), Nubya Garcia (tenor saxophone), Ashley Henry (Rhodes piano), Daniel Casimir (double bass), Josh Johnson (alto saxophone), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (violin), Jeff Parker (guitar), Anna Butterss (double bass), and Carlos Niño (percussion).In our original press release, we called it “an inspiring display of the organic global inter-connectedness of the Black American music tradition in 2018.” Not in the press release, in our off-the-record conversations at the time, we said it was ‘like Dr.Dre’s The Chronic, but for jazz’.The IA11 Edition of Universal Beings comes on classic black 140-gram vinyl 2xLP inside a heavyweight reverse-board jacket, with a 16-page 11×11″ insert booklet (with unpublished photos and four conversations between IARC co-founder Scott McNiece and musicians Joel Ross, Junius Paul, Nubia Garcia, and Anna Butterss), IARC 2025 obi strip and printed poly-lined inner-sleeves.Pressed at Pallas in Germany, with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST.
