Bassist

Christian McBride is an eight-time GRAMMY-winning bassist, composer and bandleader fusing everything from jazz to R&B, pop/rock to hip-hop/neo-soul to classical. He is the Artistic Director of the historic Newport Jazz Festival, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

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Christian McBride and Ursa Major

Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Christian McBride is an eight-time Grammy-winning bassist, composer and bandleader. He is the Artistic Director of the historic Newport Jazz Festival and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). Moreover, he directs the TD James Moody Jazz Festival and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. McBride also advocates for and educates youth. To that end, he serves as Artistic Director of Jazz House KiDS and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. Whether playing the bass or working off-stage, Christian McBride always engages with the music. He has made his mark, from jazz to R&B, pop/rock and hip-hop/neo-soul to classical, becoming a luminary, a living legend.

Christian McBride & Ursa Major

Dakota

St. Ann’s Warehouse, WNYC, and Brooklyn Bridge Park present Rhapsody for This Land: The American Odyssey in Music, a free, outdoor concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s exuberant American anthem Rhapsody in Blue. Situated beneath the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, the concert features classical pianist and host of NPR’s AMPLIFY  Lara Downes, performing the New York City premiere of her take on Gershwin’s innovative 1924 work in a radical new arrangement by the Puerto Rican composer Edmar Colón. Considering American music through a century of immigration and transformation, Rhapsody for This Land celebrates our country’s long history of hope, protest, and change.

Rhapsody for This Land: The American Odyssey in Music

Brooklyn Bridge Park

One of the most lyrical and intimate voices of contemporary jazz piano, Brad Mehldau has forged a unique path, which embodies the essence of jazz exploration, classical romanticism and pop allure. His forays into melding musical idioms, in both trio and solo settings, has seen brilliant re-workings of songs by The Beatles, Cole Porter, Radiohead, Paul Simon, George Gershwin and Nick Drake; alongside the ever evolving breadth of his own significant catalogue of original compositions. Mehldau’s new trio includes seven-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride and Grammy Award-winning drummer Marcus Gilmore, best known for his work with Chick Corea, Vijay Iyer and Pat Metheny.

Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Marcus Gilmore

Wortham Theater Center

Christian McBride is an eight-time GRAMMY Award winning bassist, composer, and bandleader. McBride is the Artistic Director of the historic Newport Jazz Festival, New Jersey Performing Arts center (NJPAC) and the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Christian is also a respected educator and advocate as the Artistic Director of Jazz House KiDS, and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. In addition to consistent touring, McBride hosts NPR’s “Jazz Night in America” and “The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian” on SiriusXM. Whether behind the bass or away from it, Christian McBride is always of the music. From jazz, to R&B, pop/rock, hip-hop/neo-soul, to classical, he is a luminary with one hand ever reaching for new heights, and the other extended in fellowship—and perhaps the hint of a challenge—inviting us to join him.

Christian McBride

August Wilson African American Cultural Center

NJPAC celebrates the close friendship of legendary singer and songwriter Miss Peggy Lee and the greatest vocal star of all, Frank Sinatra. This one-night-only event features Christian McBride as Musical Director, with a lineup of all-star vocalists including Aloe Blacc (Wake Me Up), multi-GRAMMY® winner Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bettye LaVette (I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Man of LaMancha, Ragtime) and Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive)—along with the Christian McBride Big Band and Strings.

Celebrating Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra & Friends

New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist, bandleader and host of NPR’s “Jazz Night in America,” Christian McBride brings his monumental musical tribute inspired by the words of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali and President Barack Obama. “When the suite soars, it follows the bandleader’s strengths, known for his ebullient precision — his joy in the details — and for savoring the nectar inside swing rhythm” (DownBeat).

Christian McBride’s The Movement Revisited

Symphony Center

When You Wish Upon a Star will be performed by the newly created house band of The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, featuring pianist and musical director, Sean Mason, and vocalists Kim Nalley and Sasha Dobson, who will bring these famous songs to life.

When You Wish Upon A Star: A Jazz Tribute to 100 Years of Disney1

“One of the premier musicians of his generation” (DownBeat), eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride leads an all-star quartet that draws on the powerhouse connection between McBride and drummer Nasheet Waits. The frontline of Josh Evans (trumpet) and Marcus Strickland (sax) soar as they are propelled by one of the world’s greatest rhythm sections with no piano or guitar chords to ground them. One thing is guaranteed, this band will swing!

Christian McBride's New Jawn

The Royal Conservatory of Music

At age 23, Samara Joy is already a phenom. Winner of two Grammy Awards and the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, she’s performed with such legends as Christian McBride and Bill Charlap. She possesses a voice that is rich and velvety, yet precociously refined: “The close precision and frothy power of her voice stand out immediately … so does the depth of her comfort within the jazz tradition,” attests The New York Times. With ease and a preternatural assurance,  Joy swings through understated yet powerful renditions of jazz standards.

Samara Joy

Lafayette College

At this year’s extraordinary show, we celebrate the music and the impact of one of Newark’s greatest jazz icons, Sarah Vaughan, the Divine One, on what would have been her 100th birthday.

Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Sarah Vaughan

Beyond his incomparable reputation as the standard-bearing bassist in modern jazz, Christian McBride has always been a restless explorer, constantly immersing himself in different musical environments with stimulating collaborators. After seven years of SFJAZZ performances that have run the gamut from bass duo and classical sextet to big band and his funk-infused Situation band, McBride presents the long-awaited return of New Jawn, a quartet named in reference to that most Philadelphian of indefinable words. Echoing the two horns/no piano lineup of the classic Ornette Coleman quartet, New Jawn is comprised of some of the most forward-thinking jazz artists on today’s scene. First recorded on their 2018 eponymous debut, they return with music from their 2023 Mack Avenue follow-up Prime.



SFJAZZ Center

Enjoy an evening of musical entertainment with two of the world’s foremost bassists. Eminent jazz bassist Christian McBride brings his unique musical flair to complement Edgar Meyer’s accomplished background of classical, folk, and bluegrass. The two virtuosos and friends join forces and share the stage for a transfixing and lively performance that’s sure to be an electric evening for all!

Special Event: Bass Sensations Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer

Aspen Meadows Resort

Bassist Christian McBride was named artistic director of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions (2000), co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem (2005) and creative chair for jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (2005). He now serves as artistic advisor for jazz programming at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and as artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival. From jazz to R&B to pop/rock to hip-hop/neo-soul to classical, McBride is a luminary with one hand ever reaching for new heights -- and the other extended in fellowship. McBride will be joined by Nicole Glover (sax), Ely Perlman (guitar), Mike King (piano) and Savannah Harris (drums).

Christian Mcbride/samara Joy

Mimi Ohio Theatre

Christian McBride is an eight-time Grammy®-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader. McBride is the artistic director of the historic Newport Jazz Festival, New Jersey Performing Arts center and the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He is also a respected educator and advocate as the artistic director of Jazz House KiDS and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. In addition to consistent touring, McBride hosts NPR’s Jazz Night in America and The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian on SiriusXM. Whether behind the bass or away from it, McBride is always of the music. From jazz, R&B, pop-rock, hip-hop, and neo-soul to classical, he is a luminary with one hand ever reaching for new heights, and the other extended in fellowship—and perhaps the hint of a challenge—inviting us to join him.

Christian McBride’s New Jawn

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Eight-time Grammy-winning jazz bassist Christian McBride fuses the fire and fury of a virtuoso with the depth and grounding of a seasoned journeyman. Powered by relentless energy and a boundless love of swing, McBride’s career is now blazing into its third decade and he is one of the most requested, most recorded, and most respected figures in music.

Irvine Barclay Theatre

Tia Fuller, a professor in the ensemble department, presents Christian McBride/Esperanza Spalding Ensemble.

2023 Spring Ensembles: Christian McBride/Esperanza Spalding Ensemble

David Friend Recital Hall

The WashU Jazz Band students will perform under the direction of Chris Becker.

Jazz Band Concert

560 Music Center

Bassist Christian McBride is one of the most in-demand jazz musicians of his generation. A six-time Grammy award-winner, McBride consistently combines his deft musicianship with an innate ability to communicate his enthusiasm to an audience. He originally attended Juilliard to study classical music, but soon was recruited to a touring jazz combo that launched his career. He has performed on over 200 recordings and has collaborated with varied musical legends including Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, James Brown, Kathleen Battle, and Edgar Meyer.

Harold J. Miossi Cultural and Performing Arts Center

Revered master of the upright bass, Christian McBride is also the foremost master of finding new talent and surrounding himself with young musicians. His New Quintet is precisely that. Jazz Club audiences have a rare opportunity to be up close with the acclaimed bandleader, composer, and educator alongside his fresh crop of next-gen superstars.

Christian Mcbride & Ursa Major

Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts

More than a bass superstar, Christian McBride has become a commanding force in American culture. His responsibilities are legion, from producer and radio host to his recent post as artistic director of the historic Newport Jazz Festival. And that’s to say nothing of his era-defining work as an eight-time GRAMMY Award-winning bandleader and recording artist who’s collaborated with everyone from McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny and Chick Corea to Sting, Paul McCartney, Kathleen Battle, The Roots and James Brown. 

Christian McBride’s Ursa Major

Described by JazzTimes as “one of the most consistently fascinating voices in current jazz,” Brad Mehldau has done more to extend and refine the piano trio’s possibilities than any artist in the last quarter century. For these historic nights, Mehldau performs with a true supergroup including bassist Christian McBride and drummer Marcus Gilmore.  

Brad Mehldau Trio

Barron performs with a new all-star quintet featuring bass legend Christian McBride, rising saxophone master Immanuel Wilkins, longtime drummer Johnathan Blake, and trumpeter and SFJAZZ Collective member Mike Rodriguez. They will be performing a range of material including music from Barron’s new Artwork Records release, Beyond This Place, featuring Blake and Wilkins. 

Christian McBride

Bassist

Events

Upcoming events

7 - 8 Feb, 2025

Christian Mcbride & Ursa Major · The Soraya

22 - 23 Mar, 2025

Christian McBride’s Ursa Major · San Francisco Jazz

3 - 6 Apr, 2025

Brad Mehldau Trio · San Francisco Jazz

Apr 10, 2025

Kenny Barron Quintet · San Francisco Jazz

Past events

Oct 24, 2024

Christian McBride and Ursa Major · Spac Saratoga Performing Arts Center

12 - 13 Oct, 2024

Christian McBride & Ursa Major · Dakota

About

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