Special to the Recorder
Christian McBride is a bassist extraodinaire, composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator. He has been one of the most important and most omnipresent figures in the jazz world for 20 years – which is sometimes hard to believe considering this man is not yet 40.
McBride will perform at the Jazz Kitchen, 5377 N College Ave., on March 20 for two shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. Reservations can be made online at www.thejazzkitchen.com or by calling (317) 253-4900.
In 1989, the Philadelphia-born bassist moved to New York City to further his classical studies at the Juilliard School.
Since then, McBride’s list of accomplishments has been nothing short of staggering. As a sideman in the jazz world alone, he’s worked with the best of the very best – Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, McCoy Tyner, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny.
In the R&B world, McBride has not only played with, but also arranged for Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Lalah Hathaway, and the one and only “godfather of soul,” James Brown.
In the pop/rock world, McBride has extensively collaborated with Sting, Carly Simon, Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby. In the hip-hop/neo-soul world, he’s collaborated with The Roots, D’Angelo, and Queen Latifah. He’s worked closely with opera legend Kathleen Battle, bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, the Shanghai Quartet and the Sonus Quartet.
In 1998, McBride composed “The Movement, Revisited,” a four-movement suite dedicated to four of the major figures of the civil rights movement – Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The piece was commissioned by the Portland, Maine, Arts Society and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 2008, “The Movement, Revisited” was expanded, re-written, re-vamped and performed again in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
McBride then released two CDs, 2002’s “Vertical Vision” and 2006’s “Live at Tonic.” Writer Alan Leeds called McBride’s band (affectionately known as the “CMB”) “one of the most intoxicating, least predictable bands on the scene today.” In 2009, McBride released two CDs for a new label, the Detroit-based Mack Avenue Records. First, he returned to his undiluted “straight-ahead” roots with the unveiling of his new quintet, “Christian McBride & Inside Straight” featuring alto/soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson; vibraphonist, Warren Wolf; pianist, Eric Reed and drummer, Carl Allen.
Also is a recent release of recording of duets with McBride and some of his best friends and mentors – George Duke, Angelique Kidjo, Dr. Billy Taylor, Hank Jones, Chick Corea, Eddie Palmieri, Regina Carter, Ron Blake, Roy Hargrove and Russell Malone.
Voted in Downbeat Magazine as one of the “World’s Top 100 Jazz Clubs,” the Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis’ club and restaurant, presents a mix of local, national and international jazz stars in a comfortable and casual yet romantic and intimate setting.
