….His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride’s early mentors. He is regarded as a virtuoso, and is one of the most recorded musicians of his generation, having appeared on over 300 recordings as a sideman. He is also a 3-time Grammy award winner.Full Biography

As is the case with many newer jazz artists, I only discovered the very talented Mr. McBride last year! Below you’ll find several posts that I’ve written since September about the fantastic Mr. McBride! Happy Birthday – Christian McBride!!

This morning I was in jazz mode and listened to the Christian McBride & Inside Straights release People Music. The album was released in May of this year. Inside Straight has everything I enjoy in jazz, lively vibes from Warren Wolf, piano from Peter Martin and smooth saxophone from Steve Wilson, All supported by the solid bass lines of Christian’s bass and Carl Allen;s drums.on the majority of the songs. On a few of the songs the piano duties are manned by Christian Sands and Ulysses Owens, Jr. handles the drums. Both are considered members of the Inside Straight family.READ MORE