“This is a killer band, with a level of expertise and conviction that could turn jazz agnostics into true believers.” – The Guardian, July 2009

The bass – an instrument more often relegated to a supporting role than not – steers the action in bass superstar Christian McBride’s hands. For his bass doesn’t just stay in the groove of the rhythm section; it also walks, tumbles, sings or swings into the foreground, clear, springy and light, whether in funk, hip-hop, fusion or straight-ahead jazz, with as much brawny vigour as lithe sensitivity.

Multi-dimensional
He is possibly the most sought-after bassist in the world, with countless acclaimed collaborations, performances and recordings since his meteoric rise to stardom in the early 90s with jazz greats such as George Duke, David Sanborn, Joshua Redman, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny (with whom he performed in Mosaic Music Festival 2006), as well as pop, hip-hop and soul artists like Sting, Bruce Hornsby, Carly Simon, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, DJ Logic, Queen Latifah, James Brown and The Roots.

At the same time, he is an established composer, fantastic improviser and “charismatic frontman” of his own ensemble, “with the timing and eye-contact of a standup comedian” (guardian.co.uk, July 2009), who has, over the decades, developed his own style which incorporates his love for jazz, funk, hip-hop and fusion alike. Wrote the LA Times in 2003, “Christian McBride performs superbly in so many contexts that one can never anticipate what kind of musical quest he's going to take in any given situation”.

These days, almost two decades after Rolling Stone magazine first hailed him as 1992’s "Hot Jazz Artist", Christian McBride is getting even more multi-dimensional. Plucking and bowing on both upright and electric bass, always grooving as well as improvising, the Juilliard-trained, Grammy-winning bassist, as bandleader, while never outplaying his band members, does double duty in providing both rhythm and melody. He and his band Inside Straight (previously called A Christian McBride Situation) – featuring Steve Wilson delivering imaginative, eloquent alto/soprano saxophone, rising star vibraphonist Warren Wolf, superb pianist Peter Martin and fiercely versatile drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. – have gotten critics and jazz fans all keyed up with new album, Kind of Brown, and recent performances which have seen them delving deep into familiar territory, McBride’s roots in straight-ahead jazz, then shaking things up.

His current approach may be to play his music “straight” and “inside” the harmonies, but his is not a tribute to old-school contemporary straight-ahead jazz with a strong bebop and swing feel. Instead, he and Inside Straight give their classic references fresh themes, a fierce dynamism and a new vivacity that appeal to old-school jazz-lovers and non-jazzers alike.

Always sensational
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972, Christian McBride grew up in a musical family with major influences being his father the famous bassist Lee Smith, and his great uncle Howard Cooper, who played bass with members of the jazz avant-garde including Sun Ra and Khan Jamal.

Starting on the electric bass at the age of nine, followed by the acoustic bass at 11, McBride was trained in classical music even as his passion for jazz blossomed. He began performing professionally as a young teenager and after graduating in 1989 from Philadelphia’s High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, won a partial scholarship to attend the Juilliard School in New York to study with legendary bassist Homer Mensch.

But before school had begun, he had already toured Europe with the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and the USA with classical jazz fusion group Free Flight, and within the first two weeks of school, had joined Bobby Watson’s group Horison and was working the New York clubs with John Hicks, Kenny Barron, Larry Willis and Gary Bartz.

This marked the start of his skyrocketing career, and after a year at Juilliard, McBride left to tour with trumpeter Roy Hargrove's band. He went on to join trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's band, and then Ray Brown and John Clayton as part of the trio Superbass, followed by Pat Metheny’s Special Quartet, and Joshua Redman on tour. Around that time, he began releasing his own albums which explored the urban music of the time including soul-jazz-fusion and hip-hop, garnering rave reviews, awards and invitations for collaborations from scores of artists as diverse as Sting, George Duke and Chaka Khan.

He has since gone on to compose on commission for Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Portland (ME) Arts Society and the National Endowment for the Arts, hold Artistic Director posts at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass summer programme and the Dave Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific, and been appointed the Co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Creative Chair for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, in addition to his prolific composing, recording, collaborating and performing in the USA and around the world.

7.30pm (Fri), 9.30pm (Sat)
(60mins, no intermission)

$40*
(Limited concessions for students, NSF and senior citizens at $30*)

Exclusive savings for Mosaic Friends and other packages available.

Watch for the Drum & Bass Workshop conducted by Christian McBride and Ulysses Owens, Jr. on 11 Mar, 2010. Click here for more information.