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Out Here (vinyl)

Christian McBride Trio

Out Here (vinyl)

Price: € 44.95
Format: LP 12inch
Label: Mack Avenue
UPC: 0673203106918
Catnr: MACLP 1069
Release date: 06 January 2023
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2 LP 12inch
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€ 44.95
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Label
Mack Avenue
UPC
0673203106918
Catalogue number
MACLP 1069
Release date
06 January 2023
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
DE

About the album

With Out Here, premier bassist Christian McBride’s fifth recording on Mack Avenue Records, McBride introduces his latest working group: a trio, fully embracing at age 41 his role as standard-bearer and mentor. Pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr.—both younger, emerging artists—have been performing with McBride’s smallest group for about three years, honing their trio conception to a fine point of expressive depth and nuance with select performances around the world.

“It’s a pretty diversified trio,” says McBride descriptively. “The real core foundation is hardcore swingin,’ blues and the American songbook. Part of that is because Christian [Sands] is so well-rounded and willing to go to so many places, that I can’t help but want to swing hard with him and Ulysses.” McBride, however, thought he’d never helm a jazz trio.

When he hit the jazz scene like a comet at age 17, McBride’s huge, woodsy sound and precocious agility invited comparisons to the legendary bassist Ray Brown. The late jazz bassist was not only renowned for performing on classic jazz dates with modern greats from the 1940s onward, but also for his central role in trios led by Oscar Peterson as well as his own stellar trio ensembles afterward. Once McBride recorded with Brown as a member of the early ’90s group Superbass, the association was bound to stick. He loved Brown as a mentor and father figure, but avoided leading a trio because of the inevitable comparisons.
Helming a trio was the furthest thing from McBride’s mind—until an Inside Straight appearance in 2009 became a trio date due of the absence of saxophonist Steve Wilson and vibraphonist Warren Wolf. But instead of calling for replacements for two members of Inside Straight, he opted for expedience and played the gig with pianist Peter Martin and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr.
Out Here is McBride’s 11th recording as a leader. Since the early 1990s he has recorded on over 300 dates as a sideman. Aside from relatively recent travels with Pat Metheny; Chick Corea, Roy Haynes,

John McLaughlin and Kenny Garrett; the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour – 55th Anniversary; and residencies and artistic leadership roles with organizations ranging from New York’s 92nd St. Y and Jazz House Kids to NJPAC, McBride has toured consistently for several years with his own quintet, Inside Straight. He also fronts the Christian McBride Big Band, whose Mack Avenue recording, The Good Feeling, won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2012—his third GRAMMY win overall.
Owens has been a mainstay in McBride’s groups of late. He has regularly subbed for Carl Allen in Inside Straight and is the drummer for the Big Band. “Ulysses and I have a closely formed musical relationship, where we know one another’s time and feel very well,” McBride says. “I think he’s picking up the tradition after Lewis Nash. I love his combination of technique and artistry.”
McBride had his eye out for Sands ever since hearing him on Marian McPartland’s National Public Radio “Piano Jazz” program. “I knew he was a student of Dr. Billy Taylor’s. But when I heard him he floored me. It was amazing hearing an 18-year-old really dealing with the tradition. He had his technique together, and all his tempos—ballads, medium, bebop. Plus he played the blues and could get esoteric too. I thought: finally, a young player who has all of the language. It was such a relief.”

Considering the tendency of many young players to focus on complex rhythms, baroque technique, and being different for the sake of difference, hearing these three gentlemen explore jazz fundamentals with such wonder, drive and sensitivity serves as a welcome antidote. “My trio seems to be an anomaly these days,” says McBride. “I find myself, when listening to young guys on the scene, it’s very musically clever, but I’m not feeling that kind of soul satisfaction that I felt at one time. There was a time when the young guys took pride in paying tribute to the masters but still keeping their own identity and remaining within their own generation.”

With Sands and Owens, McBride exhales with relief since they play the full spectrum of the music at will. Out Here opens with “Ham Hocks and Cabbage,” a flowing, feel-good, down-home blues with intro by Sands and melody by McBride. Oscar Peterson’s “Hallelujah Time” is a praise song to the divine taken up-tempo, with rejoicing solo turns by McBride on bow; and Sands, who trades eights with Owens before the trio closes with panache. An even faster tempo emboldens their reenactment of the Ahmad Jamal trio arrangement of “Cherokee,” alternating a waltz tempo with jet-speed precision rarely attempted since the glory days of bebop. Owens especially shines here, demonstrating a range of brush and stick work worthy of envy.

Wistful memories inspirit “I Guess I’ll Have To Forget,” originally recorded on McBride’s Sci-Fi date in 2000. On that recording, McBride says the song had “all these detours and side roads to it. I brought it back this time for some variety, to break up the mood and atmosphere. The way the song is played now is actually the way I originally wrote it: very simple, something that a vocalist could write lyrics to.”

Dr. Billy Taylor’s “Easy Walker” is taken at what McBride calls a “grown-folks tempo,” what with a deep-in-the-pocket, no-rush flair and the luxuriant insouciance of swing. “My Favorite Things” is performed in 5/4, and is the most experimental number. “We let our imaginations run wild,” he says. “It’s a song that everybody knows so we wanted to do something different so folks won’t tune out.”
Tuning out is no option on other standards present. “Most of the standards that inspire me come from Frank Sinatra,” admits McBride, regarding “East of the Sun, (and West of the Moon).” He adds Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Carmen McCrae to the array of vocal lights he turned to when he “really started listening to singers. They understood the beauty of simplicity; they sing the story the way the writer intended. They don’t put their own artistic expression before the story.”

Sinatra’s version of “I Have Dreamed” from The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands recording in 1963 was the longing spark for his heartfelt, bowed interpretation of a memorable song from The King and I. The closing number, “Who’s Making Love,” features McBride’s tributes to Johnnie Taylor and, humorously, to Robert Wilson of The Gap Band. It’s also the trio’s nod to McBride’s roots in soul and R&B. “My bone marrow is soul music. I never had to learn how to play soul music or R&B as I did for jazz and classical music.”
McBride’s talent and mark on the music scene transcend genre, so he’s no longer under Ray Brown’s shadow. And on this recording, his trio hits a jazz sweet spot. For listeners of Out Here, the result is music for the soul.
With Out Here, premier bassist Christian McBride’s fifth recording on Mack Avenue Records, McBride introduces his latest working group: a trio, fully embracing at age 41 his role as standard-bearer and mentor. Pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr.—both younger, emerging artists—have been performing with McBride’s smallest group for about three years, honing their trio conception to a fine point of expressive depth and nuance with select performances around the world.
“It’s a pretty diversified trio,” says McBride descriptively. “The real core foundation is hardcore swingin,’ blues and the American songbook. Part of that is because Christian [Sands] is so well-rounded and willing to go to so many places, that I can’t help but want to swing hard with him and Ulysses.”
McBride, however, thought he’d never helm a jazz trio.

Artist(s)

Christian McBride (double bass)

In the 1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement achieved its greatest moments, gifted bassist and composer Christian McBride was not yet born. As a child in the 1970s, he learned the history of the movement in school, but due to a quirk of fate – his grandmother’s fortunate propensity for saving old things – he found another source of information that spoke to him on a more emotionally accessible level than history books. “When I was a kid, I used to spend hours looking at old copies of Ebony and Jet magazines that my grandmother saved,” he says. “To read contemporaneous writings by black writers about events and people who were my history – our history – that was absolutely fascinating...
more

In the 1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement achieved its greatest moments, gifted bassist and composer Christian McBride was not yet born. As a child in the 1970s, he learned the history of the movement in school, but due to a quirk of fate – his grandmother’s fortunate propensity for saving old things – he found another source of information that spoke to him on a more emotionally accessible level than history books.

“When I was a kid, I used to spend hours looking at old copies of Ebony and Jet magazines that my grandmother saved,” he says. “To read contemporaneous writings by black writers about events and people who were my history – our history – that was absolutely fascinating to me. It was the greatest gift my grandmother could have given to me.”

That gift played a major role in the creation of The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons, McBride’s stunning masterpiece about “the struggle,” which is now a 20 year-long, continuously evolving project. The work combines elements of jazz, gospel, big band, swing, symphony, theater and dramatic spoken word, in a clear-eyed yet optimistic look at where our society has come from and where it is hopefully headed.

Born in Philadelphia, McBride was a gifted musical prodigy who soaked up influences from every direction. At the tender age of 17, he was recruited by saxophonist Bobby Watson to join his group, Horizon. During the 1990s, he proceeded to work with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Pat Metheny, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard and Chick Corea as well as major pop and rock stars like Sting, Paul McCartney, James Brown and Celine Dion. His abilities were also coveted by the classical music world, including opera legends Kathleen Battle and Renee Fleming.

In 1998, a musical commission from the Portland (Maine) Arts Society set in motion what would eventually become a major part of his life’s work. The only stipulation for the commission was that it had to include a choir. “At that time, I called it a musical portrait of the Civil Rights Movement,” Christian says. “I thought about those times and decided that rather than try to write a history of the movement, I wanted to evoke its spirit and feeling.”


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Christian Sands (piano)

Christian Sands grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, and later moved to the nearby Orange. He started playing the piano at a very young age, and took lessons from the age of four; he commented that 'I grew up with it in the house, in the classroom and on stage so it has always been a huge part of my life'. Sands was mentored by pianist Billy Taylor, who allowed the teenager to close one of the sets that Taylor played at the Kennedy Center. Sands went on to study at the Manhattan School of Music. The school's Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, led by Bobby Sanabria, recorded the album Kenya Revisited Live in 2009; it was nominated for a Latin Grammy. After graduating, Sands joined Inside Straight, one of bassist Christian McBride's bands; they have toured...
more

Christian Sands grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, and later moved to the nearby Orange. He started playing the piano at a very young age, and took lessons from the age of four; he commented that "I grew up with it in the house, in the classroom and on stage so it has always been a huge part of my life".
Sands was mentored by pianist Billy Taylor, who allowed the teenager to close one of the sets that Taylor played at the Kennedy Center. Sands went on to study at the Manhattan School of Music. The school's Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, led by Bobby Sanabria, recorded the album Kenya Revisited Live in 2009; it was nominated for a Latin Grammy.

After graduating, Sands joined Inside Straight, one of bassist Christian McBride's bands; they have toured internationally.

Sands became a Steinway artist in 2012. In 2014, Sands cited as influences McBride, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, and Marcus Roberts, because "They're coming from the tradition of bringing people into the music, but also moving it forward into new directions". In the same year, Sands became an American Pianists Association Jazz Fellowship Awards Finalist.


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Ulysses Owens Jr. (drums)

In 2009 Ulysses released his debut project, 'It's Time For U', which displayed his performance abilities, as well as compositions with his new quintet, ' The U.O Project'. In October '11 Ulysses will be recording his sophomore Album for the European Jazz Label Criss Cross based in the Netherlands. This CD will feature the stellar band Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Jaleel Shaw and Christian Sands. In addition to his talents as an educator, composer and performer; Ulysses has now began emerging as an up & coming producer in demand already with 3 albums for amazing jazz artists, Matthew Rybicki, Mike Cottone, and Jeremiah Abiah that will be slated for released in 2011. Ulysses' vision is to continue combining all of his...
more
In 2009 Ulysses released his debut project, "It's Time For U", which displayed his performance abilities, as well as compositions with his new quintet, " The U.O Project". In October '11 Ulysses will be recording his sophomore Album for the European Jazz Label Criss Cross based in the Netherlands. This CD will feature the stellar band Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Jaleel Shaw and Christian Sands. In addition to his talents as an educator, composer and performer; Ulysses has now began emerging as an up & coming producer in demand already with 3 albums for amazing jazz artists, Matthew Rybicki, Mike Cottone, and Jeremiah Abiah that will be slated for released in 2011.
Ulysses' vision is to continue combining all of his talents, furthering his vision of healing the world with the wonderful gift of music, inspiration and education. With his humble attitude, charisma, and vast knowledge, Ulysses will continue in great success.

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Composer(s)

Christian McBride

In the 1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement achieved its greatest moments, gifted bassist and composer Christian McBride was not yet born. As a child in the 1970s, he learned the history of the movement in school, but due to a quirk of fate – his grandmother’s fortunate propensity for saving old things – he found another source of information that spoke to him on a more emotionally accessible level than history books. “When I was a kid, I used to spend hours looking at old copies of Ebony and Jet magazines that my grandmother saved,” he says. “To read contemporaneous writings by black writers about events and people who were my history – our history – that was absolutely fascinating...
more

In the 1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement achieved its greatest moments, gifted bassist and composer Christian McBride was not yet born. As a child in the 1970s, he learned the history of the movement in school, but due to a quirk of fate – his grandmother’s fortunate propensity for saving old things – he found another source of information that spoke to him on a more emotionally accessible level than history books.

“When I was a kid, I used to spend hours looking at old copies of Ebony and Jet magazines that my grandmother saved,” he says. “To read contemporaneous writings by black writers about events and people who were my history – our history – that was absolutely fascinating to me. It was the greatest gift my grandmother could have given to me.”

That gift played a major role in the creation of The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons, McBride’s stunning masterpiece about “the struggle,” which is now a 20 year-long, continuously evolving project. The work combines elements of jazz, gospel, big band, swing, symphony, theater and dramatic spoken word, in a clear-eyed yet optimistic look at where our society has come from and where it is hopefully headed.

Born in Philadelphia, McBride was a gifted musical prodigy who soaked up influences from every direction. At the tender age of 17, he was recruited by saxophonist Bobby Watson to join his group, Horizon. During the 1990s, he proceeded to work with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Pat Metheny, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard and Chick Corea as well as major pop and rock stars like Sting, Paul McCartney, James Brown and Celine Dion. His abilities were also coveted by the classical music world, including opera legends Kathleen Battle and Renee Fleming.

In 1998, a musical commission from the Portland (Maine) Arts Society set in motion what would eventually become a major part of his life’s work. The only stipulation for the commission was that it had to include a choir. “At that time, I called it a musical portrait of the Civil Rights Movement,” Christian says. “I thought about those times and decided that rather than try to write a history of the movement, I wanted to evoke its spirit and feeling.”


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