Makaya McCraven: Jazz is an aural tradition that you learn from playing and being around other people

"The word jazz has very racist roots. It's totally inadequate in describing the breadth of music that has come out under its umbrella. And many of its founding players of the genre also took issue with the word as something that was not defined by them and was used to commodify their work. Miles Davis didn't like to call it jazz. Duke Ellington didn't like to call it jazz. Mingus didn't want to call it jazz" - drummer Makaya McCraven says in NPR interview. He explains further on - "So I think of 'jazz' — in quotes — as an aural tradition that you learn from playing and being around other people. And like aural traditions, they evolve and they move; it's not a stagnant thing for preservation. Like with an aural tradition, there's an actual physical touch". His new album 'Universal Beings E&F Sides' is out now.