For nearly two decades, Grammy Award winner
and 2008 Artist in Residence Christian
McBride has widely been regarded as one
of the premier jazz bassists in the world.
The 35 year-old Philadelphia native has played with literally hundreds of artists,
from McCoy Tyner and Diana Krall to Sting. In 1991, legendary bassist Ray
Brown invited the young wunderkind to join him and John Clayton in the trio SuperBass.
And after being hailed “Hot Jazz Artist” of 1992 by Rolling Stone,
Christian continued to prove it as a member of guitarist Pat Metheny's "Special
Quartet."
Christian’s own recordings – including The Philadelphia Experiment (2001), Vertical
Vision (2003), and Live at Tonic (2006) – have encompassed
a diverse canon of original compositions and imaginatively arranged covers that
reveal the totality of his musicianship. His current group, the Christian McBride
Band, features saxophonist Ron Blake, keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer, and drummer
Terreon Gully.
In the lead-up to the 2008 festival, Christian found time to sit down with DJF’s
Terri Pontremoli. Click
here to read the excerpt.
