A re-working of Gil Scott-Heron’s final album ‘I’m New Here’ from 2010, ‘We’re New Again’ sees improvisational Jazz drummer Makaya McCraven working with a legendary voice that already has a strong history of being reshaped and drafted into something new. A previous rework of Scott-Heron’s ‘I’m New Here’ by Jamie XX saw House piano chords and pitch-shifted vocals remixed with the minimal original compositions to create tracks that would become dancefloor hits. With that history there could be questions around why McCraven would select this album from Scott-Heron’s legacy to rework, especially since McCraven’s father worked alongside Scott-Heron on projects by The Last Poets. Yet, ‘We’re New Again’ proves fertile ground as McCraven takes the stripped down originals and builds up expertly weaved Jazz jams that is more immediate yet more settled in tone than either of its predecessors. It’s a sublime work of composition that reflects as well on the souce material as it does on its most recent creative force. Do not miss this one.