Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride returns to The Village Vanguard the week of Tuesday, June 26th through Sunday, July 1st for his first shows as a leader at the legendary New York City jazz room in over ten years. In honor of these dates, McBride has assembled The Christian McBride Situation, a brand new quintet featuring some of modern jazz’s most dynamic players including Eric Reed on piano, Steve Wilson on alto saxophone, Warren Wolf on vibraphone, Carl Allen on drums and of course, McBride himself on acoustic bass. The week promises to be among the most highly anticipated jazz events this summer.
"The Village Vanguard is easily the most hallowed ground in jazz. It means the world to me to play the most storied club in the history of jazz," states McBride. "The way I’ve tried to develop musically within the last decade by experimenting with different styles and approaches, the Vanguard was not the best place for me to play. But enough is enough. It’s time to go back."
Christian McBride exploded on the international jazz scene in the late 1980s. The Philadelphia-born and raised bassist graduated from the city’s prestigious High School of Creative and Performing Arts and headed straight to New York City on a partial scholarship to the world-renowned Julliard School. He was absorbed so quickly into the New York City jazz world that an "old school" education would soon supplant his institutional training. McBride found himself learning on the bandstand as a member of Bobby Watson’s Horizon and as a sideman on dates with the likes of Gary Bartz, Kenny Barron and Freddie Hubbard. Additional highlights during this period included stints in bands with Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny and the SuperBass trio featuring Ray Brown and John Clayton. By 1994, he was signed to Verve to record as a leader. He’d go onto release a string of monumental albums for the label, including Number Two Express, A Family Affair and SCI-FI.
By the year 2000, Christian McBride had established himself as not only a legitimate contemporary jazz icon in the making, but one of the genre’s most progressive and fearless artists. His Verve work pushed his sound in boundless new directions, including heavy doses of soul and R&B. In 2001, he joined with drummer Questlove from hip-hop luminaries The Roots and keboardist Uri Caine for the celebrated Philadelphia Experiment album on Ropeadope. Here McBride was able to further delve into his love of funk and rare groove. That year he’d also join Sting for the All This Time CD, DVD and tour. Last year, McBride released the critically-acclaimed three CD set Live At Tonic, which featured special guests like Charlie Hunter, DJ Logic and Jason Moran. The project landed him on the cover of DownBeat Magazine and re-enforced his reputation as a modern jazz visionary willing to consistently challenge himself by experimenting with fresh musical concepts. He also continues to serve as the Creative Chair for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which led to McBride performing alongside James Brown at The Hollywood Bowl prior to his passing in 2006.
With Christian McBride’s fast approaching stand at The Village Vanguard, the bassist finds himself at a cornerstone moment in his career. Not only do the shows mark a return to the vaunted venue which played such an important roll in his early development, but the fierce straight-ahead quintet McBride has assembled represents a return to the tradition from which McBride first arose.
WHERE:
THE VILLAGE VANGUARD
178 7th Ave S
New York, NY 10014
(212) 255-4037
WHEN:
TUESDAY, JUNE 26 through SUNDAY, JULY 1
Sets each night at 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM.
TICKETS:
$35 Per Set
Available at: www.villagevanguard.com
Or by calling and reserving seats at: (212) 255-4037
