Bassist Christian McBride seems to always have an illuminating smile, whether onstage or off, as if to affirm his immense joy for his music and life. From March 16-19, he’ll light up Jazz at the Bistro with that smile and his gliding, booming, sonorous, funky basses, both acoustic and electric; and he’s sure to provide a tasty mix of straight-ahead jazz and futuristic excursions.
Years ago, a very young Christian performed on TV sandwiched between two revered elder statesmen of the acoustic bass, Ray Brown and Milt “The Judge” Hinton, with a beaming expression and precise, inspiring execution that evoked their immediate approval. Since then, he’s worked with many premier musicians, including Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Mulgrew Miller, Benny Green, Diana Kral, Freddie Hubbard, Cyrus Chestnut, Roy Hargrove, Steve Turre and Lewis Nash.
Most jazz aficionados are familiar with McBride’s bassist instincts, but considerably fewer are aware of his depth and dexterity on piano. I first learned of this added dimension after hours at Just Jazz, in the former Hotel Majestic. Fooling around on the house grand, he displayed surprising facility and sensitivity.
When I later mentioned this during another wee hours rendezvous after a Clayton Brothers session at that same venue, their pianist, Bill Cunliffe n a fine player in his own right n fairly raved about Christian’s keyboard credentials. He could easily sustain a set on that instrument as well.
Still, the contrabass and its high voltage cousin are the vehicles that McBride rode to stardom. The Philly phenom began very early. Drummer Carmen Intorre, in town a few weeks ago with the Juilliard Jazz Small Ensemble at the Sheldon, informed me that Christian and Joey DeFrancesco performed on a radio or TV show in Philadelphia, under the watchful eyes of trumpet icon Miles Davis, at age twelve or thirteen.
In 1996, McBride released Number Two Express on Verve, a luminous, ambitious mosaic but little known, except for Freddie Hubbard’s “EGAD” and “Little Sunflower.” The all-star lineup featured two of the stellar pianists on today’s scene, Kenny Barron and Chick Corea, along with the super-charged alto saxes of Gary Bartz and Kenny Garrett, the sometimes frenetic flow of Jack DeJohnette’s trap set, and Steve Nelson’s bubbling vibraphone, all built on Christian’s moving, even tender bowed passages and steady, never strident underpinning.
Having mastered the conventions cherished by traditionalists, McBride ventured onto other avenues. His 2000 Verve disc, Sci-Fi, swings and sails on a pastiche of his originals and tracks composed by the likes of fellow bassmen Jaco Pastorius, his “homeboy” Stanley Clarke and pop star Sting. Eclectic collaborators include David Gilmore, Dianne Reeves, Toots Thielemans, Herbie Hancock, Ron Blake and James Carter.
My exposure to this artist, despite a wide-ranging discography, has been virtually all good. It’s all good, enlightening, uplifting, spiced with rich harmonies, sparkling tonal colors, engaging tempo shifts, robust mood swings and his own special radiance.
The last time Christian visited the Bistro, he was on a global tour, and its itinerary was attractively displayed on the backs of some tee shirts that he was marketing. A further reflection of his business acumen is his impressively organized website, where I discovered his recent appointment as co-director of The Jazz Museum in Harlem.
I’m anxiously awaiting McBride’s arrival. With possible elements ranging from humorous James Brownesque references while armed with fender bass to well-crafted, melodic episodes on the upright, his four-night engagement promises to be another Jazz at the Bistro tour de force.
Christian McBride plays at Jazz at the Bistro 3536 Washington, March 16-19. Call 534-1111 or 531-1012.