Alyssa Mcbride

If there’s one thing the acclaimed bassist knows, it’s that when it comes to grit there’s no better resource to draw from than his own hometown, Philadelphia. So, McBride turned to one of the city’s most beloved colloquialisms to christen his latest project, Christian McBride’s New Jawn. On the band’s eponymous debut, these four stellar musicians ably walk the razor’s edge between thrilling virtuosity and gut-punch instinctiveness.

Christian McBride's second big-band album, 2017's Bringin' It, is a robust, swaggeringly performed set of originals and standards showcasing his deft arranging skills and his ensemble's exuberant virtuosity. The album comes six years after his previous big-band outing, The Good Feeling, and once again finds the bassist conscripting a slew of his talented cohorts (some new, others returning), including saxophonists Steve Wilson and Ron Blake, trumpeters Freddie Hendrix and Brandon Lee, trombonist Steve Davis, pianist Xavier Davis, drummer Quincy Phillips, and others.

"New York Time offers jazz fans a wonderful opportunity to hear two rising stars of the genre (McBride, Jackson) performing with two respected elders (Cobb, Walton). The past also meets the present in other exciting ways on this recording. The set is highlighted by several of Walton’s original compositions and a cover of the legendary John Coltrane's "Naima". Meanwhile, McBride's acoustic bass talents are spotlighted on his self-written composition "Grove" (for trumpeter Roy Hargrove) and Jackson represents the new vanguard of jazz with his own tune titled "Notes in Three".

"West of 5th" is an exciting jazz recording that features pianist Hank Jones, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Listeners are offered a unique opportunity to hear two esteemed veterans playing with a stellar young musician. Jones and Cobb first rose to fame performing with talents as diverse as Miles Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Hot Lips Page and others. McBride, meanwhile, only came to prominence in the 1990s. Though the latter musician is less than half the age of Jones and Cobb, the trio's interaction on West of 5th could not be more fluid. The rhythmic interplay between McBride and Cobb is particularly strong since it comes on the heels of Chesky's recent "New York Time" release, which featured those two musicians along with Cedar Walton and Javon Jackson.