When bassist Christian McBride announces a concert in Vancouver, jazz fans always have to ask: Who with? The eleven-time Grammy-winning bassist, bandleader, and composer is one of the jazz genre's true superstars. But his resume is so extensive and far-ranging that it's only sensible to wonder who will be joining him onstage on May 27 for his first show in town for a number of years.
McBride will be joined by his electric quintet, Ursa Major, which pairs his musical mastery with rising young players — saxophonist Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, pianist Mike King, and drummer Savannah Harris.
Concert Relocation and Supporting Act
Originally scheduled to take place at the Centre For The Performing Arts, the concert has relocated to the Blueshore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts in North Vancouver, with local ace Arvind Ramdas Quintet as the supporting act. Tickets for the all-ages concert are on sale at capilanou.ca.
McBride on Ursa Major
“I've been working with Ursa Major since 2022, which is a band that utilizes both acoustic and electric instruments,” said McBride. “I wouldn't call it a heavy electric group like Return To Forever or Weather Report, but it is similar to groups I've been in before such as the Super Trio with Chick Corea and Steve Gadd or The Five Peace Band project with Chick and John McLaughlin. At this stage, I think people who know my work aren't surprised to see me playing in different groups, save a country band.”
Recent Grammy Win and Future Projects
Having just collected a Grammy for best large jazz ensemble album for last year's Without Further Ado, Vol. 1 with the Christian McBride Big Band that featured a host of guests ranging from Sting to Diane Reeves and Cécile McLorin Salvant, it's almost more surprising that McBride hasn't done a country album yet. But when you are as busy and in-demand as he is, documenting all of your projects as leader and sideman becomes challenging.
While they have been gigging together as a unit for four years, Ursa Major only dropped its first recording last year with the More Is/Smo EP. A full-length release is due at the end of this year, which is one of the reasons the band is on the road honing its chops.
“An official release is due in about six months of mostly original material, and I'm pleased to get us documented,” he said. “Every band I've had, I like to have the players contribute as composers as well as players because I truly believe that every incredible musician does more than one thing well and every great band in the history of jazz had multiple writers. Unless we are talking about Thelonious Monk, but we certainly can't all be him.”
Not seeing himself as a “Monk-level” composer, McBride prefers to have everyone in the band contribute their compositions. “If you were only writing music that you wanted to play, then I'm not sure you could ever be considered a great composer,” he said. “Whereas, when you bring in everyone's best contributions, you all sound better. That is what makes a true group.”
Throughout jazz history, another quality of the best bands has been when the elder veteran surrounds themselves with young up-and-comers. Legends such as Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus were known for bringing in lesser-known players who launched into their own careers after being in these star combos.
