Christian McBride has established himself as one of the most sought after jazz bassists in the world. This native Philadelphian has played with a variety of music legends such as McCoy Tyner, Pat Metheny, Diana Krall and Sting. In addition to his renowned work on other artists’ projects, he has been busy creating some of the most exciting music in fusion jazz with his Christian McBride Band. Incorporating traditional jazz with funk and hip hop influences this virtuoso has secured his place in jazz history among the greats.
In anticipation of the upcoming Pat Metheny performance at Georgia Tech’s Robert Ferst Center on November 3rd, AtlantaJazz.Info had an opportunity to speak with Christian McBride who will be featured on bass along with drummer Antonio Sanchez rounding out the trio. This performance will include new music from Metheny’s forth coming new CD “Trio” due out in stores January of 2008. The new CD showcases this band’s seasoned cohesion. Although the CD is new, this band has been playing together for the past four years and has an expansive repertoire. Fans should be prepared to travel anywhere they decide to take us.
Speaking by telephone we talked about the upcoming show, playing the electric bass, jazz tradition and the new generation, what’s next for Christian McBride Band and what young bass players he listens to when he’s not playing.
AJI: What can fans expect to see on November 3rd?
CMB: The trio has been touring together for the last four years now and we have a CD coming out in January and this is a culmination of all of the gigs and miles we’ve collected over the years so it should be a good reaction when the CD is released.
AJI: What is it like working with Pat Metheny?
CMB: A lot of fun! We worked together the first time about fifteen years ago in the early 90’s when Joshua Redman was brand new on the scene and Pat, of course, played on his debut album. We toured with the great Billy Higgins and I’m pretty sure we played Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse back in 1993. I have always loved working with Pat, he’s really a great guy. That personality really comes through his playing. What comes out of his guitar is indicative of his personality. He’s a mid-west guy with a lot of mid-west corn and funk.
AJI: How do you like playing with Antonio Sanchez?
CMB: “Oh, Roony.” (Christian’s nick name for Antonio) I absolutely love him dearly, he’s a professional musician with big, big ears and a really great guy to be around on the road. Fans may know him from touring with Joshua Redman all summer.
AJI: Although the CD is new, this band has played together for the past four years, this must be a great show.
CMB: Well, Pat claims that this is the broadest trio that he’s ever had, meaning that we can go from hard to soft, from acoustic to electric to big and little all in the same concert so I think you’re going to get a little bit of everything.
AJI: Do you think we may hear anything from Pat Metheny’s debut 1976 album Bright Size Life which also featured an all-star trio?
CMB: Maybe, we actually play Bright Size Life every once in a while, Pat may pull that out of his hat that night? We stacked a pretty large repertoire over the last few years so we could play that or Omaha Celebration or Broadway Blues.
AJI: On this tour do you play acoustic and electric bass?
CMB: It’s 90 percent acoustic but depending on how Pat may be feeling that night maybe I will play electric on a couple of songs.
Christian McBride’s career has followed the path of jazz pioneers who after mastering the traditional jazz standard then began to incorporate the musical influences of his generation, namely funk and hip hop into his music. This fusion fuels the growth of jazz illuminating the way for future generations of music lovers to discover this truly American art form. Some of Christian’s contemporaries include; Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, Steve Coleman and Cassandra Wilson. Every generation brings their own experience into their interpretation of this music and this current progression is a natural evolution. These visionary artists sometimes take undue criticism from traditional jazz authorities who do not always appreciate some of the new influences heard in jazz music.
AJI: I was surprised to learn that you learned to play the electric bass before the acoustic.
CMB: Yeah, I think most musicians from my generation, if they play bass, kind of started on the electric. Reginald Veal (who played bass for Wynton and Branford Marsalis) is the same way. We came through the music with rhythm and blues or soul. My dad, being a great bassist with all of the great Philly soul groups when I was a kid was my introduction. Then once I got to junior high school and had to take formal lessons to play in the orchestra, I had to start playing the acoustic bass.
AJI: When you first came on the scene you could be heard playing acoustic bass everywhere on everything, it appeared that you were going to be to jazz bass what Ron Carter had been for decades to come.
CMB: Yeah, that seemed to be the consensus for a few years there but I just wanted to pick the right time to branch out and publicly acknowledge those other facets in my musical make up.
AJI: Was that your 1998 CD A Family Affair?
CMB: Yes. But I remember when I did Number Two Express, I tried very hard to throw up a tiny smoke signal to beware of the next CD. Like you know something is coming. The last song on that CD I did a version of Freddie Hubbard’s cover Little Sun Flower and I played electric bass. I think I over dubbed four or five different bass parts and Nana Vasconcelos played percussion. I thought people who were really checking it out might go, “Hmmm?” So when Family Affair dropped everyone would see, that’s what we were being set up for.
AJI: Jazz musicians like yourself, Roy Hargrove and Joshua Redman have to incorporate all of your experience because that is how the music grows.
CMB: Exactly right. I think there was a point where there was so much pressure on carrying the torch for be bop and the old school tradition that we almost felt it was a bad thing. But my funk roots are way too deep and strong. I felt like sooner or later, I’m just going to explode; I’ve got to get some of this out!
AJI: There are those jazz authorities who don’t support young jazz artists who sometimes incorporate funk and hip hop sensibilities into their music.
CMB: Sometimes things like that have less to do with music than has something to do with some kind of personal wall that you put up where, liking something other than jazz is somehow an insult to all the great legends that have put their lives on the line? But the great jazz tradition is changing the tradition and that’s what jazz is.
Dizzy Gillespie didn’t go to the gig every night thinking, “Man, I got to play like Louis Armstrong or I’m not upholding the tradition.” You know Miles Davis didn’t go to his gigs saying, “I got to play just like Dizzy or I’m not upholding the tradition.” So why should Roy or Joshua or any one of us do the same thing?
We have to build upon what we have and what we already know which is a whole lot of music. I would be curious in twenty years to see….well it’s actually happening now where you have guys like Christian Scott and others who come directly from hip hop. Guys like Hargrove and myself, our hip hop was the fun, old school, like the Sugar Hill Gang, Frankie Smith, Grand Master Flash and all that kind of stuff. You got these cats now like Christian whose generation was NWA, the Too Live Crew and Ice T so he’s coming from a gangster rap influence. They have some of that rhythm going on in their music and people listen like, “Oh my God…” and I’m listening to them like, “Well yeah, of course, that makes perfect sense to me.”
AJI: Well you are leading the way with your latest 3 CD release Live at Tonic. How do you follow up such a great project like that?
CMB: I’m actually trying to plan the next CD which is likely going to be another live CD with the band. We just need to figure out when we can get together and work out some time to work out some of this new material. Actually right after this tour ends with Pat, within three or four days I’m getting back with my band and we’re going to play a show here in New York then Cincinnati then Canada. So we’ll have a handful of gigs to pull some thing together and hopefully if things go as planned then we can make another live CD at the end of January.
AJI: Will the Christian McBride Band be comprised of the same members?
CMB: CMB Band will stay in tact!
AJI: That is a BADD band!
CMB: I hope we get to play in Atlanta, I’ve never played in Atlanta with a band of my own since 1998 when we played at Clayton College in Spivey Hall. It’s been nearly ten years since I’ve been there.
AJI: The Atlanta jazz scene is still new compared to New York and Chicago but we have some incredible jazz artists come into town to play and so many talented world class musicians living here. We at AtantaJazz.Info are committed to supporting the growth of this jazz market.
CMB: You know Russell Gunn (trumpet) is in Atlanta and do you know Little John Roberts (drums) is my homeboy from Philly. We grew up together.
AJI: When you’re not playing and you hear young bassists, what are some of the names that catch your ear?
CMB: Oh there’s a lot of badd cats out there I like listening to. There’s Reuben Rogers, Garret Hodge… there’s a young cat from DC who’s about to get out there named Ben Williams. Roy Haynes has a bassist, David Wang. There’s an electric bassist out of Denver named Garrett Sayers who plays in a band called the Motet, he’s really serious. There’s a bunch of really good bassists out there…too many of them.
AJI: Christian, thank you, we look forward to the performance next week.
CMB: I have a lot of good friends and family in Atlanta. I’m looking forward to the gig also.
NSP
Christian McBride was interviewed by North Sea Phil for AtlantaJazz.Info