Christian McBride Reunites Members of The Police on New Album, “Without Further Ado”
Bassist Christian McBride is one of the hardest-working musicians in the world, and he’s made a lot of friends in his career. Those two aspects are coming together on his newly announced big band album, Without Further Ado, Vol. 1. The eight-song collection will feature a who’s who of jazz vocalists, including Dianne Reeves, Samara Joy, José James, Cécille McLorin Salvant, Jeffrey Osborne, and Antoinette Henry. In a bit of a twist, the album will also feature a partial reunion of The Police.
Sting and Andy Summers appear on the first single, “Murder By Numbers,” which marks the first time they’ve reunited since The Police’s 2007-2008 tour. McBride, who has worked with Sting on and off for decades, expressed his excitement for the song, which was first released on The Police’s Syncronicity.
“I am absolutely thrilled to have Sting and Andy Summers — two-thirds of one of the most influential bands in history, The Police — join me for one of their songs,” he says. “Sting continues to evolve gracefully as an artist, and Andy still plays with the sophisticated fire and grit he has always possessed. A huge thank you to both of them, as well as to the remarkable Pedrito Martinez, for bringing that special ‘thang’ that only he can provide.”
McBride wears many hats in the music business: bassist, producer, arranger, songwriter, and music director, to name a few. Without Further Ado, Vol. 1 evolved out of his work as the music director for the NJPAC Gala, for which McBride’s Big Band has been the house band since 2012. “We’ve always invited a bunch of great singers to come and perform at the Gala,” McBride says, “and as musical director, I’m responsible for arranging all of the music. After so many years of writing big band charts for these incredible singers, I realized that I had stacks of music that had only been played once. This has been a fantastic opportunity to finally record some of these arrangements and to play them with some of my favorite singers.”
Some of the other standout tracks are Samara Joy’s rendition of the jazz standard “Old Folks” and Jeffrey Osborne’s reinterpretation of “(Every Tim I Turn Around) Back in Love Again” that he recorded with L.T.D. in 1977.
“Murder By Numbers” is streaming now on Apple Music, and Amazon Music, and more. Without Further Ado, Vol. 1 will be out on August 29th and is open for pre-order on Christian McBride’s website.
Without Further Ado, Vol. 1 Track Listing:
- Murder by Numbers feat. Sting and Andy Summers
- Back in Love Again feat. Jeffrey Osborne
- Old Folks feat. Samara Joy
- Moanin’ feat. José James
- All Through the Night feat. Cécile McLorin Salvant
- Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow feat. Dianne Reeves
- Come Rain or Come Shine feat. Antoinette Henry
- Op. 49 – Cold Chicken Suite, 3rd Movement
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
