Christian McBride Trio, Out Here, Mack Avenue Records (2013)

• Christian Sands: piano
• Christian McBride: bass
• Ullysses Owens, Jr.: drums

In this day and age its unusual for a jazz musician to release more than one CD in a year and so it was with a certain degree of surprise and delight that I found and purchases this disc. It was only a couple months ago that I bought McBride’s other 2013 release, “People Music” and now here he is again! In some cases jazz musicians will release multiple albums in a year, but only because they are reworked collections of previous music. This CD is not in that category at all; this is McBride’s latest stuff and I guess I’ll just let the cat out of the bag here and state up front that this is some intensely enjoyable music. I was surprised to learn that in spite of McBride’s long recording career, this is his first ever trio recording! 

Christian Sands is a young piano player who made a significant impression on McBride when he appeared on NPR with Marian McPartland and now they’re working together. McBride makes some pointed comments on his web site in connection with this recording, stating that much of what young jazz musicians are doing these days is very creative and clever but ultimately fails to impress him on an emotional level. His stated goal is to just stick with the basics but with an ear to music that moves people. And after listening to this CD 4 or 5 times I’d have to say that I think he’s onto something. At least as far as my tastes run, this is a wonderful recording of music that is new and yet sounds familiar, original, and yet deeply engaging. 

Only two of the nine tracks are originals but the covers draw from a wide gamut of composers including Oscar Hammerstein, Ray Noble and Oscar Peterson. Perhaps the most adventuresome cut is “My Favorite Things” played in an unconventional 5/4. But whatever the interpretation or variation on these classics, it never sounds like its being done for academic purposes, but rather always for the sake of the music. This album is full of uplifting, and upbeat music that will keep you coming back for more. And the sound fidelity is an absolute delight!

Harrison/Blanchard, Black Pearl, Columbia (1988)

• Terence Blanchard: trumpet
• Donald Harrison: alto C melody and soprano saxophones
• Cyrus Chestnut: piano
• Reginald Veal: bass
• Carl Allen: drums
• Monte Croft: vibraphone (2,4)
• Steve Thornton: percussion (2,4)
• Mark Whitfield: (4)

Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison got their most significant early big break with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in the early eighties. Blanchard replaced Wynton Marsalis, a childhood friend and contemporary and served as the band’s musical director. During that period they also formed their own band and branched out with several recordings of their own. The significance of this particular release lies in the fact that it was their final collaborative effort before embarking on their respective solo careers, in which they have both been very successful with numerous works to their credit. This was a highly significant partnership that resulted in five releases with bands of their own and two live recordings from a tribute to the legendary 1961 Sweet Basil sessions of Eric Dolphy and Booker Little. Blanchard and Harrison teamed up with the three surviving members and played many of the original tunes; and event that garnered high acclaim for its historical significance and creative re-working of the music some twenty five years after the original event. I was able to find the second CD from that tribute on a Japanese label and suspect that it may have never been released outside of Japan.

The best thing about these recordings is that they branch out significantly beyond anything that was being accomplished by the Jazz Messengers at the time. Black Pearl has a subdued aura and they slow things down significantly. They were clearly on the leading edge of the neo-trad movement that was sweeping the jazz world and their work is marked by adventurous and creative compositions and arrangements.  Strangely, the booklet that came with my CD has no compositional information but I’ve snooped around on the internet for some information and was surprised to learn that the two tributes to trumpet masters entitled “Selim Sivad” and  “Dizzy Gillespie’s Hands” were penned by Harrison, the sax player. If you’re having trouble figuring out who the first one is honoring just read it backwards! Blanchard composed everything else with the exception of the sixth cut, “Somewhere”.

In typical fashion for this generation of young lions, careful attention was paid to sound fidelity in the studio, resulting in an acoustically beautiful recording that faithfully reproduces the sound and timbre of each instrument. On a personal note, this is some of the first serious listening I’ve done with my new hearing aids, and while they are not perfect, I’m feeling pretty satisfied and look forward to many more years of being able to fully enjoy beautiful music on a great audio system.