Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
winner.
McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jazz musicians and ensembles, including
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
,
McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...
,
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
,
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...
,
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...
,
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...
,
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jaz ...
,
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...
,
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...
,
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive.
Early life
Pal ...
,
Joshua Redman
Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006).
Life and career
Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman ...
, and
Ray Brown's "
SuperBass" with
John Clayton John Clayton may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Writing
*John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer
*John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer
*John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...
, as well as with pop, hip-hop, soul and classical musicians like
Sting,
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
,
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
,
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...
,
The Roots,
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...
,
Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Deanna Battle (born August 13, 1948) is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performance ...
,
Renee Fleming,
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...
,
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...
, and
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
.
Early life
McBride was born in Philadelphia on May 31, 1972.
After starting on
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, McBride switched to
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
. He is a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and studied at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
.
Later life and career
![Christian McBride & Jimmy Heath](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Christian_McBride_%26_Jimmy_Heath.jpg)
McBride was heralded as a teen prodigy when he joined saxophonist
Bobby Watson
Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator.
Music career
Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He ...
's group, Horizon, at the age of 17. From age 17 to 22, McBride played in the bands of older musicians such as Watson,
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
,
Benny Golson
Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...
,
George Duke
George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...
,
Milt Jackson
Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...
,
J. J. Johnson and
Hank Jones
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...
, as well as his peers such as
Roy Hargrove,
Benny Green, and
Joshua Redman
Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006).
Life and career
Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman ...
. In 1996, jazz bassist
Ray Brown formed a group called SuperBass with McBride and fellow Brown protégé
John Clayton John Clayton may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Writing
*John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer
*John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer
*John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...
. The group released two albums: ''
SuperBass: Live at Scullers'' (1997) and ''
SuperBass 2: Live at the Blue Note'' (2001).
McBride was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quartet in the early 1990s with pianist
Brad Mehldau
Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Qua ...
and drummer
Brian Blade. McBride began leading his own groups in 1995 after the release of his debut album ''
Gettin' to It
''Gettin' to It'' is the debut studio album of American jazz bassist Christian McBride. The album was released in 1995 via Verve label.
Background
The album was produced by Richard Seidel and Don Sickler, and released by Verve Records on 1 Sep ...
'' (
Verve
Verve may refer to:
Music
* The Verve, an English rock band
* ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve
* ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album)
* Verve Records, an American jazz record label
Businesses
* Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...
). Saxophonist
Tim Warfield
Timothy Reginald Warfield Jr. (born July 2, 1965, in York, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Early life
Warfield picked up alto saxophone when he was nine years old, and switched to tenor when he was a teenager at William Penn ...
, pianists Charles Craig and
Joey Calderazzo
Joseph Dominick Calderazzo (February 27, 1965) is a jazz pianist and brother of musician Gene Calderazzo. He played extensively in bands led by Michael Brecker and Branford Marsalis, and has also led his own bands.
Early life
Calderazzo was born ...
, and drummers
Carl Allen and
Greg Hutchinson are among the musicians who played in McBride's early groups. From 2000 to 2008, McBride led his own ensemble, the Christian McBride Band, with saxophonist
Ron Blake
Ron Blake (born September 7, 1965) is an American saxophonist, band leader, composer, and music educator. Born in the Virgin Islands, he attended Northwestern University, and now lives in New York City. Blake began studying guitar at 8 and tur ...
, pianist/keyboardist
Geoffrey Keezer
Geoffrey Keezer (born November 20, 1970) is an American jazz pianist.
Keezer was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager, playing piano for Art Blakey at age 18 and touring with Joshua Redman, Benny Golson and Ray Brown in his 20s. He has toured w ...
, and drummer
Terreon Gully
Terreon Deautri Gully (born December 28, 1972) is an American drummer from East St. Louis, Illinois.
Career
Gully has performed with various musicians and genres, including the Christian McBride Band, saxophonist Ron Blake, vibraphonist Stefo ...
. The band released two albums: ''
Vertical Vision
''Vertical Vision'' is an album by bassist Christian McBride's sextet that was released in 2003 by Warner Bros. Records. This album was his only release on that record label.
Reception
Christian McBride of ''Jazz Review'' stated "For several y ...
'' (
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, 2003) and ''
Live at Tonic'' (
Ropeadope, 2006).
In 1996, McBride contributed to the
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
benefit album ''
Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip'' produced by the
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.
Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...
.
McBride primarily plays double bass, but he is equally adept on bass guitar. He played both on the album ''
The Philadelphia Experiment'', which included keyboardist
Uri Caine
Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956, Philadelphia, United States) is an American classical and jazz pianist and composer.
Biography
Early years
The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, and poet Shulamith Wechter Caine, Caine began ...
and hip-hop drummer
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson.
Other projects have included tours and recordings with the
Pat Metheny Trio, the
Bruce Hornsby Trio, and
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...
. Like
Paul Chambers
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop era. ...
, McBride can solo by playing his bass
arco
ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...
style.
In 2006, McBride was named to the position of Creative Chair for Jazz with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
, taking over from
Dianne Reeves
Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer.
Biography
Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle is bassist Charles Burrell, and h ...
. He was signed to a two-year contract that was renewed for an additional two years. He was succeeded by
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
in 2010.
McBride performed with
Sonny Rollins and
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jaz ...
at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
on September 18, 2007, in commemoration of Rollins' 50th anniversary of his first performance there. McBride was also tapped by CBS to be a producer for the tribute to Rollins on the 2011
Kennedy Center Honors
The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...
broadcast.
In 2008, McBride joined
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra
* Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter
* John McLaug ...
,
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...
,
Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett (born October 9, 1960) is an American post-bop jazz musician and composer who gained recognition in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and for his time with Miles Davis's band. His primary instruments are alto and ...
and
Vinnie Colaiuta
Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Colai ...
in a jazz fusion
supergroup called the Five Peace Band. They released an album in February 2009 and completed their world tour in May of that year, as
Brian Blade took over for
Vinnie Colaiuta
Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Colai ...
as drummer in Asia and some US concerts. The album ''Five Peace Band Live'' won the 2010 Grammy Award for
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
In 2011 McBride released his first big band album, ''
The Good Feeling
''The Good Feeling'' is a studio album by the Christian McBride Big Band. It won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012. The record was released on via the Mack Avenue label.
Background
Th ...
'', for which he won the
Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance.
McBride leads five groups: Inside Straight, featuring alto/soprano saxophonist
Steve Wilson, vibraphonist
Warren Wolf, pianist
Peter Martin and drummer Carl Allen; a trio featuring pianist
Christian Sands and drummer Jerome Jennings; his 18-piece big band; an experimental group called A Christian McBride Situation with pianist/keyboardist
Patrice Rushen
Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director.
Her 1982 single "Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Awar ...
,
turntablists DJ Logic
DJ Logic (born 1972 as Jason Kibler) is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/ acid jazz and with jam bands.
Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx, NY. Because of an early interest in hip hop, Kibler started using the turnta ...
and Jahi Sundance, saxophonist
Ron Blake
Ron Blake (born September 7, 1965) is an American saxophonist, band leader, composer, and music educator. Born in the Virgin Islands, he attended Northwestern University, and now lives in New York City. Blake began studying guitar at 8 and tur ...
and vocalist
Alyson Williams
Alyson Williams (born May 11, 1962) is an R&B singer who had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some notable tracks include "Just Call My Name", "Sleep Talk", "My Love Is So Raw" and "I Need Your Lovin".
Career
The daugh ...
; and the New Jawn, featuring trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist
Marcus Strickland
Marcus Strickland (born February 24, 1979) is an American jazz soprano, alto, and tenor saxophonist. He was born in Gainesville, Florida, and grew up in Miami. '' Down Beat'' magazine's Critics' Poll named him 'Rising Star on Tenor Saxophone' in ...
, and drummer
Nasheet Waits
Nasheet Waits is an American jazz drummer.
Son of percussionist Freddie Waits, Nasheet Waits is a New York native who has been active on the jazz scene since early in his life. Before pursuing a music career, he studied psychology and history a ...
.
In March 2016, McBride was named artistic director of the
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...
, succeeding the festival's founder and artistic director,
George Wein
George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer. .
McBride hosts
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's radio show, ''Jazz Night In America.''
Personal life
Christian is married to jazz singer and educator Melissa Walker. Walker, with contributions by McBride, leads the Jazz House Kids, a jazz school in their home town of
Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...
. Each summer, they both appear at the Montclair Jazz Festival, along with student ensembles led by the instructors, professional ensembles composed of instructors, and guest acts.
McBride shared the story of his first encounters with Freddie Hubbard in "The Gig" and his relationship with James Brown in "Mr. Soul On Top" on ''
The Moth Radio Hour
The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Founded in 1997, the organization presents a wide range of theme-based storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featurin ...
'', a radio show and podcast devoted to story-telling.
The Moth
February 10, 2011.
Discography
As leader
Compilations
* ''It's Christmas on Mack Avenue'' (Mack Avenue, 2014)
As sideman
See also
* List of jazz bassists
This list of jazz bassists includes performers of the double bass and since the 1950s, and particularly in the jazz subgenre of jazz fusion which developed in the 1970s, electric bass players.
The most influential jazz double bassists from the ...
References
External links
Official website
'Ep. 29: Featuring 6-time Grammy Award winning bassist Christian McBride'
Interview by Tigran Arakelyan
"Industry Q&A with Christian McBride "
''Jazzfuel.com'', 26 November 2019.
Mack Avenue Artist Page
*Chris M. Slawecki
"Christian McBride Throws Down"
''AllAboutJazz'', May 23, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2007
*David Miller
"Live at Tonic"
''AllAboutJazz.com'', May 21, 2006. Retrieved August 11, 2007
*Donald True Van Deusen
"Christian McBride: Bass Beautiful"
''AllAboutJazz'', October 6, 2004 Retrieved August 11, 2007
*Todd S. Jenkins
''AllAboutJazz.com'', July 1, 2001. Retrieved August 11, 2007
*Nate Chinen
''New York Times'', June 28, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2009
Christian McBride Band MySpace Page
Conversation With Christian McBride
10/01/2007
Christian McBride telling a story entitled "The Gig" on The Moth podcast
Conversation with Christian McBride - State of Mind, April 2006
Interview with Christian McBride for the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Program
July 18, 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Christian
1972 births
Living people
Jazz fusion musicians
American jazz double-bassists
Male double-bassists
American jazz bass guitarists
Grammy Award winners
African-American jazz musicians
Chesky Records artists
Guitarists from Philadelphia
American male bass guitarists
Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
21st-century double-bassists
21st-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
Christian McBride Big Band members
Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts alumni
Ropeadope Records artists
Mack Avenue Records artists
Verve Records artists
African-American guitarists
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American people