Home » Jazz Articles » Christian McBride
Jazz Articles about Christian McBride
Christian McBride: Jazz Notes from the Engine Room
by Lawrence Peryer
Today, the Spotlight shines On Christian McBride, a musician, recording artist, prolific composer, arranger, producer, cultural curator, dedicated educator, and mentor.Christian has been called the hardest-working person in jazz and the above list might be underselling it. From his early days in Philadelphia soaking up the sounds of Philly Soul to sharing stages with legends like Ray Brown and Chick Corea, Christian has become a bridge between jazz's rich history and its vibrant future.These days, you'll ...
Continue ReadingMike Stern: Echoes and Other Songs
by Neil Duggan
Echoes and Other Songs is guitarist Mike Stern's first release since the loss of pianist, friend and confidante, Jim Beard in March, 2024. Beard, perhaps best known for his association with Steely Dan, appears here as pianist, keyboardist and producer. Stern is still on the long road to recovery following a fall in 2016 that broke both his arms and left him with nerve damage. He has adapted his technique and now uses a homegrown solution to hold his pick ...
Continue ReadingMike Stern: Echoes and Other Songs
by Doug Collette
With a running time of seventy-seven minutes plus, guitarist Mike Stern's Echoes and Other Songs is effectively a double album. And like most such expansive works--including classics like Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde (Columbia, 1966) and The Beatles (aka 'The White Album')(Apple, 1968)--it would benefit from consolidation of its best elements (as would a replacement of the amateurish cover design). Even so, this is still a deceptively ambitious piece of work. Of course, advanced thinking has virtually always ...
Continue ReadingJazzkaar 2024
by Martin Longley
Jazzkaar Telliskivi Creative City Tallinn, Estonia April 21-28, 2024 Customarily, the almost-always April placement of the Jazzkaar festival is accompanied by a goodly beaming of spring-flavored sunshine, perhaps infected by the odd murky downpour, but soon drying off its feathers. Instead, during 2024's 35th edition, Tallinn's wondrous eight-dayer was forced to accept an incongruous spring-mush of a snowstorm, deeply clinging, sludging around for a few days, chilled to the bones. Somewhat cleverly, ...
Continue ReadingChristian McBride, Edgar Meyer: But Who's Gonna Play The Melody?
by Mike Jurkovic
It is not known exactly how many duets of this nature have fallen into the lackluster bin of audio history. But rest assured that But Who's Gonna Play The Melody? is as far from that incalculable number as the moon is from the sun. Emblematic of Christian McBride's whole groove credo, everything falls into place quickly, smoothly, and easily on But Who's Gonna Play The Melody?. On the bassist's gazillionth high spirited musical offering, McBride soul-teams with finger-snapping, ...
Continue ReadingClaudia Acuna: Duo
by Angelo Leonardi
Alcuni classici della canzone popolare latina costituiscono il nucleo del sesto disco da leader di Claudia Acuña. In questa celebrazione la cantante cilena ha coinvolto sette protagonisti del jazz contemporaneo in altrettante esecuzioni in duo caratterizzate da palpitante relazione con la loro identità tradizionale. I due brani conclusivi sono cantati in inglese e la vedono piena protagonista: “Cristal Silence" di Chick Corea è cantato a cappella; “YO" è una sua composizione originale eseguita con un sottofondo percussivo. ...
Continue ReadingRenewing the Legacy: The Day 2 Musical Odyssey at the Newport Jazz Festival
by Dave Kaufman
Day 1 | Day 2 | Part 3 The first day at the Newport showcased a multitude of performers who could be described as “beyond jazz" or “jazz adjacent." Their performances were greeted enthusiastically, and they added a palpable energy and a festive vibe. In the last two days of the festival, the balance shifted somewhat to artists working within the elastic boundaries of the tradition. Kudos to artist director Christian McBride for curating an exceptional roster of ...
Continue Reading
