''Vertical Vision'' is an album by bassist

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

's sextet that was released in 2003 by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. This album was his only release on that record label.

Reception

Christian McBride of ''

Jazz Review ''Jazz Review'' was a Scottish jazz magazine, founded in 1998. The founders were jazz writer (and former editor of ''The Wire'') Richard Cook and Roger Spence of the talent management agency Direct Music Limited of Edinburgh, Scotland. ''Jaz ...

'' stated "For several years now, bassist Christian McBride has been dead set on proving true the old axiom that not only does jazz have the ability to broaden the scope and depth of popular music, but that the latter can also rejuvenate and invigorate the former when it hits a rut... But this is precisely what McBride has offered forth on Vertical Vision, his debut for Warner Brothers. The tongue in cheek opener, "Circa 1990" (a scratchy, 16-second snippet of a retro-swing tune) points up the bassist's stern-faced dedication to this new direction, in sharp response to the snobbish responses to 1998's A Family Affair and 2000's Sci-Fi (his earlier similar departures, both on Verve). From that moment on, for fifty solid minutes, McBride is committed to an aesthetic every bit as reconstructionist and conservative as his neo-bop days - the difference being that here he substitutes Jaco-like fretless work for his Ray Brown-style walking, a variety of keyboards for plain piano, and modern break beats for reliance on the ride cymbal". Paula Edelstein of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote "The celebrated jazz educator, master bassist, composer, and arranger, Christian McBride provides a new recording, told in a language of blazing originality. Vertical Vision is a multi-layered musical story that features beautiful solos, great grooves, funky riffs, and virtuosic performances by each bandmember. The recording also reveals McBride's passion for strong writing, brilliant accompaniment, and eclectic melodic voicings that stay with listeners long after the record ends".

Track listing

Personnel

;Band *Christian McBride – bass (upright, electric), production *

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 ...

– sax (tenor, soprano), flute *

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 ...

– piano, keyboards *

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 ...

– drums *

David Gilmore David Gilmore (born 5 February 1964) is an American jazz guitarist. Gilmore studied at New York University with Joe Lovano and Jim McNeely. In 1987 he began working professionally with the M-Base Collective and Ronald Shannon Jackson. In the 1 ...

– guitar (acoustic, electric) *Danny Sadownick – percussion ;Production *Joe Ferla – recording, mixing

Chart performance

References

External links

Christian McBride Discography
{{Authority control 2003 albums Christian McBride albums Warner Records albums