Michael Dease: Coming Home

D Clef Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Coming Home

I’ve been a jazz fan all of my life, and I’m turned on by most of its sub-genres and the potpourri of instruments involved. That said, I’ve always been partial to the slide trombone. That love began when I first heard the Woody Herman Herd, with Bill Harris starring in the trombone section; his brilliant, driving style was a key part of those bands, and he led the way for artists such as J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Bob Brookmeyer, John Fedchock, Curtis Fuller, Wycliffe Gordon and a host of others. 

The newest to join that august group, Michael Dease, is the star of this album. This relatively young (early 30s) musician is a master of the instrument. His tone is superb, his solo passages are tremendously innovative, and he swings like crazy. Combine that with his prowess as a composer and arranger, and we have the next big jazz artist.

The Georgia native began his musical career playing sax, but he switched to trombone before graduating from high school. He received both bachelor and master of music degrees from Juilliard and, while there, earned numerous awards. His first breakthrough was with Illinois Jacquet’s big band in 2002, and Dease currently performs with numerous other groups headed by Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Jimmy Heath and Charles Tolliver. Dease also is a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s All Stars, and he plays with many smaller groups, including those under his own name. This release features one of his quintets.

The membership includes bassist Christian McBride, pianist Renee Rosnes, drummer Ulysses Owens Jr., alto saxophonist Steve Wilson and, of course, Dease on trombone. In addition, Eric Alexander (tenor), Tony Lustig (tenor and baritone) and Andrew Swift (percussion) guest on several  of this album’s 11 tracks. Five are Dease originals; one is written by Rosnes, and another by McBride. The rest are jazz standards from Oscar Peterson, Freddie Hubbard and Duke Ellington, along with and Jules Stein’s great “Just in Time.” There’s something from — and for — everyone.

That said, my favorites include takes on “Just in Time” and Peterson’s “Blues Etude.” The latter is a tricky melodic line involving trombone, piano and bass in unison, and trading solo lines that groove wonderfully; the former is done at a blistering tempo that demonstrates Dease’s facility with the slide at an almost unbelievable speed, along with McBride’s second-to-none bass pyrotechnics. 

You absolutely shouldn’t miss this album.

Christian McBride: Conversations with Christian

Mack Avenue Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Conversations with Christian

Bassist Christian McBride is almost too young to be the icon he has become. Still in his 30s, he began to play electric bass at age 9, then switched to the acoustic model two years later. He had plenty of family support; his father and a great-uncle both played the instrument. While in high school, where studied classical music and became exposed to jazz, Christian received a partial scholarship to New York’s Juilliard school. But within two weeks, he joined Bobby Watson’s band; after finishing his first year of studies, McBride left school to tour with trumpeter Ray Hargrove.

As McBride put it, he “chose experience with as many musicians as possible, rather than school.”

He achieved that goal; it’s difficult to find an artist or band he hasn’t worked with, whether in jazz, classical or pop, as an instrumentalist or supporting a vocalist. And his discography is huge, with more than 300 albums to date.

McBride isn’t merely a musician. He composes and arranges; is an educator, producer and administrator; a curator; and a major spokesperson for the arts. Oh, yes; he’s also a multi-award winner.

Conversations with Christian presents McBride in a duet role with a baker’s dozen of his “closest musical friends and cohorts.” They include singers (Angelique Kidjo, Sting, Dede Bridgewater), pianists (George Duke, Chick Corea, Eddie Palmieri, Billy Taylor, Hank Jones), violinist Regina Carter, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, guitarist Russell Malone, tenor saxophonist Ron Blake and actress Gina Gershon.

The usual duet setting involves either a pianist or guitarist in a primary role as an instrumentalist or accompanist. I’ve never encountered an acoustic bassist who takes that lead responsibility ... well, meet Christian McBride. There he is, in the spotlight, for all to see and hear. And he doesn’t merely lay down and maintain a beat; his solo work is magnificent.

Four bars into “Afirika,” this album’s opening track, we know we’re witnessing an absolute master musician. He’s joined on this cut by Kidjo, the Grammy Award-winning vocalist dubbed by Time Magazine as “Africa’s prime diva.” When the track concludes, it’s obvious that, together, they own the song. It’ll never again be done that beautifully by anyone else.

Each selection in this album had that same impact on me. Carter’s violin is supported by both bowed and plucked bass, in pure classical and lightly swinging modes; Sting has never swung like this before; and so it goes, with each duo. Every guest artist performs brilliantly, but McBride clearly is key to each track’s overall excellence.

What a marvelous album!

Christian McBride: The Good Feeling

Mack Avenue Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: The Good Feeling

Most musicians evolve as they gain experience. An individual who starts out playing with a polka group may end up in a modern big band; another might begin as a gospel church organist and become the pianist in a straight-ahead quartet. Generally, though, the core musical genre remains fixed.

That isn’t the case with bassist Christian McBride. At still shy of 40, he has participated in just about every possible musical setting. He enjoys — and is more than fluent — with every element of the jazz family tree, rock ’n’ roll, pop, soul and classical. He also performs with groups of all sizes, ranging from small-jazz units to concert and symphony orchestras.

And, as further proof that he’s a recognized expert by all elements in the musical world, his discography exceeds 300 albums during a 20-year professional career.

And yet this is his first recording as the leader of a big band.

This album’s 11 songs are a combination of favorite standards and original compositions. Whereas most composers and arrangers produce manuscripts that relate to their own personal “likes,” McBride almost always has a specific musician in mind: what he writes, and the style employed, reflect how that artist plays.

The opening track (“Shake ’n Blake”) reflects this approach, with saxophonist Ron Blake serving as the catalyst; likewise, alto saxist Steve Wilson wrought “Brother Mister.”

McBride’s Big Band approach even includes a vocalist, Melissa Walker, who is featured on “When I Fall in Love,” “The More I See You” and “A Taste of Honey.” Many of the great standards begin with “prologues,” but these days nobody sings them; Walker’s inclusion of the introduction to “When I Fall in Love” makes that old song very special.

The orchestra is a big band in every sense: five reeds, four trumpets and trombones, a pianist, drummer and McBride on bass, along with the vocalist. The unit is “classical” in format, but the sound achieved has the personality, exuberance and power of Christian McBride.

And that says it all.