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Everyone's favorite young acoustic bassist of the 1990s, Christian McBride's large sound and expertise, both with plucked and bowed solos, recall Ray Brown and particularly Paul Chambers. He actually started on electric bass when he was eight and took R&B gigs in high school, but by then he was getting more interested in jazz and playing the acoustic bass. McBride studied at Juilliard (starting in 1989) and then played briefly in the bands of Bobby Watson, Benny Golson, Roy Hargrove, and Freddie Hubbard. He toured with the Benny Green Trio, played duets with Ray Brown at the 1994 Monterey Jazz Festival, and recorded his debut as a leader for Verve before touring with his own group in 1995. Beginning with Family Affair in 1998, McBride began opening up his sound and incorporating more of the pop, funk, and fusion styles he grew up with. This approach continued through such albums as Sci-Fi and Vertical Vision. Having jumped labels from Verve to Warner in the early 2000s, McBride made yet another label change, releasing the more straight-ahead New York Time on Chesky in 2006. In 2009, McBride returned with an equally straight-ahead set of mostly original tunes, Kind of Brown. Two years later, he offered The Good Feeling, his first turn as leader of a big band.
from Wikipedia:
Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors. He is regarded as a virtuoso, and is one of the most recorded musicians of his generation, having appeared on close to 300 recordings as a sideman before the age of 40.
Biography
After starting on bass guitar, McBride switched to double bass and studied at the Juilliard School.
He has performed and recorded with a huge number of jazz legends and ensembles, including Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Diana Krall, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Wynton Marsalis, Hank Jones, Joshua Redman, and Ray Brown's "Superbass" with John Clayton, as well as with hip-hop, pop, soul, and classical musicians like The Roots, Kathleen Battle, Carly Simon, Sting, Bruce Hornsby, and James Brown.
In 1996, McBride contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip produced by the Red Hot Organization.
Since 2000, McBride has fronted his own acoustic, jazz, fusion and funk ensemble, "The Christian McBride Band". As writer Alan Leeds has stated, it is "one of the most intoxicating, least predictable bands on the scene today." McBride also plays on occasion under the moniker "A Christian McBride Situation," McBride's "blanket term for a passing arrangement of sympathetic players" according to writer Nate Chinen.
McBride primarily plays upright bass, but is equally adept on the electric bass. During his tenure with Sting (2001–03), he also played bass for the collaborative project, "The Philadelphia Experiment." The Philadelphia Experiment included keyboardist Uri Caine and hip-hop drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson. Recent projects have included tours and recordings with the Pat Metheny Trio, the Bruce Hornsby Trio, and Queen Latifah. His Live at Tonic three-CD set was released in 2006. And like Paul Chambers, McBride can solo by playing his bass arco style.
In 2006, McBride was named to the position of "Creative Chair for Jazz" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, taking over from Dianne Reeves. He was initially signed to a two-year contract that was subsequently renewed for an additional two years. He was eventually succeeded by Herbie Hancock in 2010.
McBride performed with Sonny Rollins and Roy Haynes at Carnegie Hall on September 18, 2007, in commemoration of Rollins' 50th anniversary of his first performance there.
He is also co-director of the new National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
McBride is currently touring in a "straight-ahead" quintet called "Christian McBride & Inside Straight" featuring alto/soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Peter Martin (jazz pianist) and drummer Carl Allen, as well as performing as "A Christian McBride Situation" with saxophonist Ron Blake, guitarist David Gilmore & turntablist DJ Logic.
In 2008, McBride joined John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett and Vinnie Colaiuta in a jazz fusion supergroup called the Five Peace Band. They released a CD in February 2009 and completed their world tour in May of that year, as Brian Blade took over for Vinnie Colaiuta as drummer in Asia and some US concerts.
He released his first big band album, titled "The Good Feeling" in 2011.
