While I continually try to see each and every one of my favorite players over the years, it just happens that some fall through the cracks. It’s inevitable. This was the case with Christian McBride. One of my favorite upright players (and bassists in general) had always managed to escape my attention when he came to town. In my defense, I only have so much time to go out to see live shows; however, Mr. McBride was definitely on my musician “bucket list” so I had to make an effort sooner or later. I’m now happy to report that his box has been checked!

For those that don’t know who Christian McBride is, he is a venerable who’s who of modern jazz bassists. This guy has played with everyone–and I’m talking about real jazz legends here, including some of my favorites–Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Eddie Palmieri and Joshua Redman. I think you get the picture. He’s the real deal and he comes correct. Although primarily an upright jazz bassist, he commands the electric bass as well with a funky, modern vibe that would make even Marcus smile.

This particular show was a one of a different kind. It isn’t often that you’ll see Christian McBride in a university auditorium setting. It reminded me of many of the jazz shows I used to see at my college, years ago. While the university jazz faculty isn’t always the hippest, they do have a knack for soliciting the great players every now and then. This show was part of a mini-festival of sorts, dubbed the “Carolina Jazz Festival”. These types of university shows generally showcase the faculty, some of their favorites in the jazz world and even the local up and comers, including high school jazz bands. It’s a very community forward event, so it was honestly surprising to see Christian McBride on the playbill. Regardless, my schedule was open and I had to make an effort here–the venue was close enough and when is the next time I’m going to be able to see Christian McBride?

This show featured Christian’s newest quintet, a band that he will be touring with this year (and beyond, so he says) and also recording a new album with. These guys were young! I would say the average age was somewhere between 22-28. It always amazes me time and time again how great some of these young guns are. Accompanying Christian on bass was keyboardist/pianist Mike King, guitarist Eli Perlman, drummer Savanna Harris and tenor saxophonist Nicole ???? (I’m sorry Nicole I tried really hard to catch your full name but I couldn’t!) They were all great.

As a guitar player I was impressed with Eli’s prowess on the 335. He had great tone and chops and they even showcased one of his original tunes, “Elevations” which was quite mature sounding for what looked to be a fresh Berklee College graduate on stage. Mike King was equally impressive on keys–switching from grand piano to rhodes to Nord organ flawlessly. This guy really had an avant-garde “out” vibe to his playing, a la Keith Jarrett. It didn’t work for me all the time, but you could tell this guy was a real thinking man’s jazz player. Again, extremely mature playing for what seemed to be such a young age.

Drummer Savanna Harris was very tight and controlled. Not always the greatest dynamics or incredible solos, but she did have a very nice command of the kit and was able to showcase some great jazz brush work in addition to modern jazz chops. Unfortunately it was difficult to hear the saxophonist clearly. She could definitely play that horn, but using a stage mic (as opposed to lavalier) was not the greatest way to capture her sound. I think this is why most players will usually opt for the lavalier mic when they have the choice (and hopefully she will make it a staple for future gigs). As such, her playing tended to fade in and out as she drifted closer and further away from the mic. Really, what is she supposed to do? You have to move around a little bit! Even so, it was clear that she was as equally talented as the others, just harder to hear.

I have to admit, the stage sound was a little muddy anyway, even for Christian’s bass tone. I recall playing in a similar situation with my jazz trio. If you’ve never played on one of these auditorium stages they can be frighteningly loud even with the softest instruments. It seems like they were made for solo piano or string quartets. I remember sound checking for a gig at a college auditorium and for whatever reason the volume jumped up about 10db as soon as we hit the downbeat for the gig. I literally jumped out my spot (on stage) and was dumbfounded by the insane increase in volume. It has a tendency to pull your pants down very quickly if you’re not expecting it! And it makes it very difficult to even play quiet–there really isn’t a great way to get there because the stage sound on its own is so loud. So I empathize with the difficulty in getting the sound dynamics right.

That said, I enjoyed hearing Christian McBride’s chops in the flesh. While I prefer him on upright bass–and he definitely brought the “A” game he is known for–he was equally impressive on the electric. What’s great about a bass player like Christian McBride is that you hear so much more going on in the low end realm that you generally don’t get to hear with your average bassist. Whether soloing or just holding down the rhythm, his phrasing was phenomenal and he really had an effortless command of the bass. It’s such an admiring quality–it comes from years of consistent playing day in and day out. This is why the greats are who they are and this is why you should always jump at the chance to see them, whether you are a musician or not. It’s like going to a 5 star restaurant to eat–you will not be disappointed!

The set list had nice variety to it. While we missed the opener (a Donald Brown song?), the band followed with a killer version of Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance.” This is where guitarist Eli Perlman first caught my ear. Next up was the aforementioned guitarist’s tune, “Elevations”. I really liked this one, it had a nice modern feel and the changes were dreamy. It sounded like something Pat Metheny or even Jonathan Kreisberg might do. Certainly a lot of fun to play over from the soloist’s perspective. While the band didn’t do a ton of Christian’s material, they did a number on “Familiar Steps” (a “Giant Steps” remake of sorts) at the classic uptempo speed and yes, those chord changes are STILL hard to play over!

The band actually featured quite a few joints from the individual players. Although I don’t recall the name of the drummer’s original song, it was another nice modern jazz feeling number. They delved into another one of Christian’s tunes next, this time one of his classic soft ballad feels, titled “A Morning Story”. This was a nice change of pace during the night. As challenging as it is to play at blinding uptempo speeds, playing really slow melodic stuff can be equally as difficult. It was good to hear that the band was adept at this tempo as well. They followed that up with another McBride favorite, “Brewhaha” which was an homage to the late Chic Corea and very funky!

While the show seemed to be over at this point, it was great to see the band come back out and do the obligatory encore, which featured the saxophonist’s tune, “Blues for Mel”. I always love these blues type jams at the end of shows. The changes are super easy so it gives the band the opportunity to relax on their instrument and just jam out a little bit. In this case, being heady jazz players, each soloist took the time to completely change up the chord structure to their own liking and showcase their (absolutely required to have) blues chops. Fun song and great way to end the night.

If I’m honest, I have no idea where the two hours went. It was a fantastic night of jazz music from start to finish and I was very satisfied to have finally seen one of my favorite jazz bass legends, Mr. Christian McBride. I expect I will hear more from this new quintet and will be looking to see what the other players bring as they mature, since they are all such adept young pups. I may even take up the challenge of transcribing one of Christian’s tunes to perform in my trio. We will see!

Until next time, remember to make time for great live music. It never disappoints!