The Makanda Project: Multiple Percussion Edition

This unique edition of the Makanda Project features three renowned percussionists—Yoron Israel, Warren Smith, and Thurman Barker—along with the group’s 10-member horn section. The interaction of the three drummers is highlighted, providing an energetic lift and a broad range of textures to the overall group sound.

The Makanda Project, an ensemble dedicated to performing the compositions of Makanda Ken McIntyre, has become a Boston institution. McIntyre (1931–2001), a Boston native, was an innovative but under-recognized multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator. As a composer, he had a distinctive voice and a unique gift for doing unexpected things in very musical ways. Makanda Project leader and pianist John Kordalewski, a former McIntyre student, has arranged more than 50 of his previously unrecorded pieces for the large ensemble. Group members include several noted Boston-area bandleaders and top-level musicians from New York.

Since 2006, the Makanda Project has established a presence in the local jazz scene through an ongoing series of self-produced free concerts in the Dudley Square and John Eliot Square neighborhoods of Roxbury. Many of these have featured renowned guest artists. These popular concerts serve as community events, often including forms of participation such as live painting and youth performances, in addition to being a unique local platform for creative music.