Christian McBride Trio Releases Live Set from Legendary Club

Christian McBride Trio: Live at The Village VanguardVirtuoso bassist Christian McBride is well known for his residencies at New York City’s The Village Vanguard jazz club, where he has played as a bandleader since 1995. The club is a legendary one, and McBride acknowledges its history. “You feel Coltrane hovering in the vortex. You feel Monk hovering in the vortex. Miles Davis, Mingus… you feel all of that in the air.”

Now, his trio, featuring Ulysses Owens Jr. on drums and pianist Christian Sands, has released Live at The Village Vanguard. The trio’s personality is distinct, according to McBride. “I realized that with guys like Ulysses and Christian, we can go anywhere we want to go: angular, swinging, esoteric, blues, impressionistic and funk.”

The trio goes into some different territory on the album, too, turning in interpretations of “The Lady in My Life” (a Rod Temperton song performed by Michael Jackson on 1982’s Thriller, one of the best-selling pop albums in history) and the 1976 film soundtrack title song “Car Wash” by Rose Royce. “This was one tune where even my band members looked at me side-eyed,” McBride said. “Even my wife said, ‘so what’s next? ‘I Will Survive’?”

And, while the set also includes band originals, there are standards, too, though, like “Cherokee”:

Live at The Village Vanguard is available on CD and as a digital download (iTunes and Amazon MP3).

Live at The Village Vanguard Track List:

  1. Fried Pies
  2. Band Introduction
  3. Interlude
  4. Sand Dune
  5. The Lady in My Life
  6. Cherokee
  7. Good Morning Heartache
  8. Down by the Riverside
  9. Car Wash

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