# Christian McBride

Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is a nine-time Grammy Award winner.
McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jazz musicians and ensembles, including Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Joe Henderson, Diana Krall, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Palmieri, Joshua Redman, and Ray Brown's "SuperBass" with John Clayton, as well as with pop, hip-hop, soul and classical musicians like Sting, Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Isaac Hayes, The Roots, Queen Latifah, Kathleen Battle, Renee Fleming, Carly Simon, Bruce Hornsby, and James Brown.

## Early life

McBride was born in Philadelphia on May 31, 1972. After starting on bass guitar, McBride switched to double bass. He is a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and studied at the Juilliard School.

## Later life and career

McBride was heralded as a teen prodigy when he joined saxophonist Bobby Watson's group, Horizon, at the age of 17. From age 17 to 22, McBride played in the bands of older musicians such as Watson, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, George Duke, Milt Jackson, J. J. Johnson and Hank Jones, as well as his peers such as Roy Hargrove, Benny Green, and Joshua Redman. In 1992, jazz bassist Ray Brown formed a group called SuperBass with McBride and fellow Brown protégé John Clayton. The group released two albums: SuperBass: Live at Scullers (1997) and SuperBass 2: Live at the Blue Note (2001).
McBride was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quartet in the early 1990s with pianist Brad Mehldau and drummer Brian Blade. McBride began leading his own groups in 1995 after the release of his debut album Gettin' to It (Verve). Saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianists Charles Craig and Joey Calderazzo, and drummers Carl Allen and Greg Hutchinson are among the musicians who played in McBride's early groups. From 2000 to 2008, McBride led his own ensemble, the Christian McBride Band, with saxophonist Ron Blake, pianist/keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer, and drummer Terreon Gully. The band released two albums: Vertical Vision (Warner Bros., 2003) and Live at Tonic (Ropeadope, 2006).
In 1996, McBride contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip produced by the Red Hot Organization.
McBride primarily plays double bass; however, he is equally adept on bass guitar. He played both on the album The Philadelphia Experiment, which included keyboardist Uri Caine and hip-hop drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson. Other projects have included tours and recordings with the Pat Metheny Trio, the Bruce Hornsby Trio, and Queen Latifah. Like Paul Chambers, McBride can solo by playing his bass arco style.
In 2006, McBride was named to the position of Creative Chair for Jazz with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, taking over from Dianne Reeves. He was signed to a two-year contract that was renewed for an additional two years. He was succeeded by Herbie Hancock in 2010.
McBride performed with Sonny Rollins and Roy Haynes at Carnegie Hall on September 18, 2007, in commemoration of Rollins' 50th anniversary of his first performance there. McBride was also tapped by CBS to be a producer for the tribute to Rollins on the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors broadcast.
In 2008, McBride joined John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett and Vinnie Colaiuta in a jazz fusion supergroup called the Five Peace Band. They released an album in February 2009 and completed their world tour in May of that year, as Brian Blade took over for Vinnie Colaiuta as drummer in Asia and some US concerts. The album Five Peace Band Live won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
In 2011, McBride released his first big band album, The Good Feeling, for which he won the Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance.
McBride leads five groups: Inside Straight, featuring alto/soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Peter Martin and drummer Carl Allen; a trio featuring pianist Christian Sands and drummer Jerome Jennings; his 18-piece big band; an experimental group called A Christian McBride Situation with pianist/keyboardist Patrice Rushen, turntablists DJ Logic and Jahi Sundance, saxophonist Ron Blake and vocalist Alyson Williams; and the New Jawn, featuring trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and drummer Nasheet Waits.
In March 2016, McBride was named artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival, succeeding the festival's founder and artistic director, George Wein.
McBride hosts NPR's radio show, Jazz Night In America.

## Personal life

Christian is married to jazz singer and educator Melissa Walker. Walker, with contributions by McBride, leads the Jazz House Kids, a jazz school in their home town of Montclair, New Jersey. Each summer, they both appear at the Montclair Jazz Festival, along with student ensembles led by the instructors, professional ensembles composed of instructors, and guest acts.
McBride shared the story of his first encounters with Freddie Hubbard in "The Gig" and his relationship with James Brown in "Mr. Soul On Top" on The Moth Radio Hour, a radio show and podcast devoted to story-telling.

## James Moody Jazz Festival

McBride curates and advises the annual James Moody Jazz Festival.

## Discography
### As leader

| Year | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
| 1994 | Gettin' to It | Verve | |
| 1995 | Number Two Express | Verve | |
| 1998 | A Family Affair | Verve | |
| 2000 | SciFi | Verve | |
| 2000 | The Philadelphia Experiment | Ropeadope | |
| 2002 | Vertical Vision | Warner Bros. | |
| 2005 | Live at Tonic | Ropeadope | |
| 2009 | Kind of Brown | Mack Avenue | |
| 2011 | The Good Feeling | Mack Avenue | Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album |
| 2011 | Conversations with Christian | Mack Avenue | |
| 2013 | People Music | Mack Avenue | |
| 2013 | Out Here | Mack Avenue | |
| 2015 | Live at the Village Vanguard | Mack Avenue | Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo |
| 2017 | Bringin' It | Mack Avenue | Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album |
| 2018 | Christian McBride's New Jawn | Mack Avenue | |
| 2020 | The Movement Revisited | Mack Avenue | |
| 2020 | For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver | Mack Avenue | Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album |
| 2021 | Live at the Village Vanguard | Mack Avenue | |
| 2023 | Prime | Mack Avenue | |
| 2024 | But Who's Gonna Play the Melody? | Mack Avenue | with Edgar Meyer |

### Compilations

* It's Christmas on Mack Avenue (Mack Avenue, 2014)

### As sideman

| Main artist | Album title | Year | Notes |
| Wallace Roney | Obsession | 1990 | |
| Gary Bartz | Shadows | 1991 | |
| Ricky Ford | Hot Brass | 1991 | |
| Benny Green | Greens | 1991 | |
| Roy Hargrove | Public Eye | 1991 | |
| Houston Person | The Lion and His Pride | 1991 | released 1994 |
| Joe Henderson | Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn | 1992 | (Henderson won a Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo) |
| Benny Green | That's Right! | 1992 | |
| Benny Green | Testifyin': Live at the Village Vanguard | 1992 | |
| Freddie Hubbard | Live at Fat Tuesday's | 1992 | |
| Etta Jones | Reverse the Charges | 1992 | |
| Mulgrew Miller | Hand in Hand | 1992 | |
| Benny Carter | Legends | 1993 | |
| Chris Potter | Presenting Chris Potter | 1993 | |
| Joshua Redman | Joshua Redman | 1993 | |
| Joe Lovano | Tenor Legacy | 1993 | |
| Harold Mabern | Lookin' on the Bright Side | 1993 | |
| Harold Mabern | The Leading Man | 1993 | |
| Wallace Roney | Munchin' | 1993 | |
| David Sanborn | Pearls | 1994 | |
| Peter Bernstein | Signs of Life | 1994 | |
| Don Braden | After Dark | 1994 | |
| Teddy Edwards | Tango in Harlem | 1994 | |
| Benny Green | The Place To Be | 1994 | |
| Joshua Redman | Moodswing | 1994 | |
| Abbey Lincoln | A Turtle's Dream | 1994 | |
| Brad Mehldau | Introducing Brad Mehldau | 1995 | |
| Roy Hargrove | Family | 1995 | |
| Fleurine | Meant to be | 1995 | |
| Joe Lovano | Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard | 1995 | |
| Joe Henderson | Double Rainbow: The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim | 1995 | |
| Diana Krall | Only Trust Your Heart | 1995 | |
| Jimmy Smith | Damn! | 1995 | |
| McCoy Tyner | Prelude and Sonata | 1995 | |
| Michael Wolff | Jumpstart | 1995 | |
| Cedar Walton | Composer | 1996 | |
| Jimmy Smith | Angel Eyes: Ballads & Slow Jams | 1996 | |
| Harold Mabern | Mabern's Grooveyard | 1996 | |
| Joe Henderson | Big Band | 1996 | |
| McCoy Tyner | What the World Needs Now: The Music of Burt Bacharach | 1997 | |
| Diana Krall | Love Scenes | 1997 | |
| Renee Rosnes | As We Are Now | 1997 | |
| Chick Corea | Remembering Bud Powell | 1997 | |
| Bob Dorough | Right On My Way Home | 1997 | on tracks #1, 3, 4, 5 & 7 only |
| McBride/Payton/Whitfield | Fingerpainting: The Music of Herbie Hancock | 1997 | |
| Frank Foster | Leo Rising | 1997 | |
| Michael Wolff | 2AM | 1997 | |
| Freddie Hubbard | God Bless the Child | 1998 | |
| George Duke | After Hours | 1998 | |
| Yutaka Shiina | United | 1998 | |
| Benny Green | These Are Soulful Days | 1999 | |
| Benny Green | Naturally | 2000 | |
| Harold Mabern | Maya with Love | 2000 | |
| Eliane Elias | Everything I Love | 2000 | |
| Diana Krall | The Look of Love | 2001 | |
| Jim Hall | Jim Hall & Basses | 2001 | |
| Sting | All This Time | 2001 | |
| Chick Corea | Rendezvous in New York | 2002 | |
| George Duke | Face the Music | 2002 | |
| Diana Krall | Live in Paris | 2002 | |
| Sting | Sacred Love | 2003 | |
| David Sanborn | Time Again | 2003 | |
| Pat Martino | Think Tank | 2003 | |
| Diana Krall | The Girl in the Other Room | 2004 | |
| Regina Belle | Lazy Afternoon | 2004 | |
| McCoy Tyner | Illuminations | 2004 | Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album |
| David Sanborn | Closer | 2005 | |
| Chris Botti | To Love Again: The Duets | 2005 | |
| George Duke | Duke | 2005 | |
| Pat Metheny & Antonio Sanchez | Day Trip | 2005 | |
| Eddie Palmieri | Listen Here! | 2005 | |
| Chris Botti | December | 2006 | |
| Chick Corea | Super Trio: Corea/Gadd/McBride | 2006 | |
| Hank Jones | West of 5th | 2006 | |
| Bruce Hornsby | Camp Meeting | 2007 | |
| Chris Botti | Italia | 2007 | |
| Chick Corea | Chillin' In Chelan | 2007 | |
| Joshua Redman | Back East | 2007 | |
| McCoy Tyner | Quartet | 2007 | |
| David Sanborn | Here and Gone | 2008 | |
| Queen Latifah | Trav'lin' Light | 2008 | |
| Pat Metheny & Antonio Sanchez | Tokyo Day Trip | 2008 | |
| George Duke | Dukey Treats | 2008 | |
| James Carter | Heaven on Earth | 2009 | |
| Chick Corea and John McLaughlin | Five Peace Band Live | 2009 | Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album |
| Paul McCartney | Kisses on the Bottom | 2012 | |
| Ulysses Owens Jr. | Unanimous | 2012 | |
| Chick Corea | Trilogy | 2013 | Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album |
| George Duke | DreamWeaver | 2013 | |
| Joseph Tawadros | Permission to Evaporate | 2014 | |
| Peter Bernstein | Signs Live! | 2015 | |
| Diana Krall | Wallflower | 2015 | |
| Craig Taborn | Flaga: Book of Angels Volume 27 | 2016 | Part of John Zorn's Book of Angels series |
| Diana Krall | Turn Up the Quiet | 2017 | |
| Joshua Redman | RoundAgain | 2020 | |
| Joshua Redman | LongGone | 2022 | |
| George Freeman | The Good Life | 2023 |