Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Christian McBride was born May 31, 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania into a family of bassists, his father Lee Smith and great uncle Howard Cooper who served as his early mentors.

Widely considered to be one of the best bassists of his generation in the jazz community, McBride has performed and recorded with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Diana Krall, Roy Haynes, Joshua Redman, Chick Corea and Sonny Rollins to name a few as well as in the hip hop, soul, pop and classical genres with The Roots, Kathleen Battle, Carly Simon, Sting, James Brown and others.

Since 2000 Christian has fronted his own band and has become one of the least predictable bands if not intoxicating. Equally adept on the electric bass he was part of The Philadelphia Experiment with Uri Caine and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. He took over the relinquished Creative Chair of Jazz with the L.A. Philharmonic from Dianne Reeves, that he held until Herbie Hancock took over four years later in 2010. He is co-director of the new National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

McBride released his first big band album, titled “The Good Feeling” in 2011 for which he won his third Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance.

He currently leads four groups – “Inside Straight” featuring alto/soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Peter Martin and drummer Carl Allen; a trio with pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr.; an 18-piece big band, and an experimental group called “A Christian McBride Situation” with pianist/keyboardist Patrice Rushen, turntablists DJ Logic and Jahi Sundance, saxophonist Ron Blake and vocalist Alyson Williams.

More Posts: bass