''Live at the Village Vanguard'' is a live album by American jazz bassist Christian McBride. It was recorded over three consecutive nights in December 2014 at the famous jazz club Village Vanguard in New York City and released on via Mack Avenue label. The cover of "Cherokee" featured in the album won the Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo at the

58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 20 ...

in 2016. This is the thirteenth full-length album recorded under his leadership.

Reception

Colin Fleming of '' JazzTimes'' noted "Cutting an album at the Village Vanguard is both a rite of passage and an attempt to take one’s own place in a particularly hallowed hall of live recordings. But it’s evident here, with the opening take of Wes Montgomery’s “Fried Pies,” that Christian McBride’s trio is more than capable of advancing on both fronts. McBride dubs drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. his American Express, as he’s loath to leave home without him, and with the kick the man provides it’s no wonder. The opener has a taut, bracing solo that pianist Christian Sands helps transition into a percussive duet before the central refrain comes roaring back in, McBride’s bass encircling the driving progressions of his counterparts". On Audiophilia.com Anthony Kershaw wrote "Typical of McBride, the charts are hard driving and swing. There's lots of technique on show, but great musicianship and musicality, too. The audience loves it and you can feel the energy in the room... This album has a lot of his debut album's energy. His improvisational style has developed, especially on ballads, but his ingenue talent was so well defined in 1994 that this album is simply an emphasis on it. There was a lot to love from the beginning. Live at the Village Vanguard has a nice mix of up tempo original charts, standards (The Lady Of My Life, Cherokee, Down By The Riverside), covers and ballads."

Track listing

Personnel

;Band *Christian McBride – bass *

Christian Sands Christian Sylvester Sands (born May 22, 1989) is an American jazz pianist and composer. His third album for Mack Avenue Records, ''Be Water'', was released in 2020 and received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Instrumental Composition catego ...

– piano *

Ulysses Owens Ulysses Owens Jr. (born December 6, 1982 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American drummer and percussionist. He was the drummer on vocalist Kurt Elling's Grammy-winning album '' Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hart ...

– drums ;Production *Keith H. Brown – illustrations *Christian McBride – producer *Randall Kennedy – creative director *Raj Naik – art direction, design *Trevor Smith – photography *Gretchen Valade – executive producer *Todd Whitelock – mixing *Mark Wilder – mastering

Chart performance

References

External links

Christian McBride Discography
{{Christian McBride 2015 live albums Christian McBride albums Mack Avenue Records albums Albums recorded at the Village Vanguard