Interrupted Conversations

Bassist Christian McBride is undoubtedly one of the best bassists of the last twenty years. His early work, particularly with Joshua Redman, is astoundingly good – he even made an intentionally square two-feel sound hip on Joshua Redman’s “On The Sunny Side Of The Street” in 1993. But where Mr. Redman’s style has perhaps evolved too far (I thought his latest effort, with James Farm, was well-intentioned but vague), McBride could be said to be too firmly where he started. He still plays in a trio with pianist Benny Green (who is no modernist). Ethan Iverson, who thinks very highly of Mr. McBride (see comments section below), nevertheless noted:

When McBride pedals for a moment during Ornette’s first solo it is quite a relief.  But McBride is still in the tonality and resolves the 12-bars accurately.  In my opinion, too accurately! 

Iverson's post should be read in full for the context of that quote, but I picked it out because it points to a quality in McBride's playing that I consider flawed, a quality present in force on the bassist's newest record, an album of duets, out November 8th on Mack Avenue.

There are two kinds of duet albums. There is the Joe Lovano/Hank Jones or Joel Frahm/Brad Mehldau variety (an album by an actual duo), and then there is the Sinatra or Tony Bennett Duets variety – one static performer pairing off with a variety of companions. McBride has chosen the latter format for Conversations With Christian, and while it has its moments, it falls prey to the usual failings of this kind of record.

First and foremost among these is the album’s inability to establish a narrative beyond the presence of McBride himself. The record’s eighth track is a marvelous version of “Alone Together” with the late Hank Jones (who also recorded a duo of this tune with Joe Lovano several years ago). Jones and McBride play at peak form, working together without either stepping on any toes or giving each other too wide a berth. It is, in fact, straightahead duo playing at its best. The next track is “McDukey Blues,” an up-tempo blues with pianist George Duke. Yes, the piano/bass narrative is continued, but with Jones replaced the story has stopped and begun again. The Duke/McBride tune is great, but it has both interrupted the beginning of a great musical narrative and been interrupted by the next track, with Chick Corea. And so on and on.

This is the biggest problem with Conversations With Christian. It is always a problem with a record that tries to bring together a wide range of performers, each for an abbreviated amount of time. Even a disc like Lionel Loueke’s Mwaliko, which does a better job of establishing an overarching mood and purpose, suffers in this respect.

But there is also a stylistic aspect of Conversation With Christian which holds it back. McBride is at his best when he’s playing on home turf – such as “Baubles, Bangles And Beads” with Roy Hargrove, or the Hank Jones tune – but sounds a little lost in the away games. The “Tango Improvisation #1” with Chick Corea sounds strained, not only because Corea himself is no longer really capable of playing in the freely improvisational style of the Corea/Vitous/Haynes group but because McBride, isn’t able to leave his solidly hard-bop home base long enough to sound at ease in this setting.

These are only two issues. That’s not many, but they loom suprisingly large over Conversations With Christian. And there are smaller, more isolated hiccups as well – the less said about Sting’s performance, the better. I’m as open-minded as anyone, and have no problems with someone like Sting playing with someone like McBride. But don’t do it that way.

In the end, as has proved true many times before, a smorgasbord does not an album make, no matter how tasty each individual element may be. McBride is still talented and inventive in 2011  - we might get more of an idea of just how inventive if he made an entire album with each of these musicians, instead of just this fleeting, often two-dimensional sampler.

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Conversations With Christian will be released on Mack Avenue on November 8^th, 2011. Other performers include Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater and the late Billy Taylor.

 

Comments

[Ethan Iverson]

You reduce my extensive comment about McBride behind Ornette Coleman http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/2011/09/could-liebling-box.html
into either "limitations as a stylist" or "isn’t able to leave his solidly hard-bop home base long enough to sound at ease in this setting."

Playing with Ornette is something I have already written extensively about
http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/this-is-our-mystic.html

and I thought that the fact that Ornette can still wrong-foot a modern professional was worthy of public discussion.

Perhaps I need to tread more cautiously. I didn't expect my carefully chosen words about the bassist reduced to "limitations as a stylist," etc.

In addition to his musicianship, I respect McBride's open-hearted embrace of many kinds of music and jazz. He's not a close-minded cat -- he certainly plays a lot more than hard-bop! Indeed, McBride may be the best acoustic funk bassist around.

[Jon Wertheim]

On the contrary, maybe I should have made myself more clear, Ethan. I understand that your comment had a larger (and more appreciative) context. I've read all your Ornette pieces and hope I understand them, and your comments about Mr. McBride, accurately.

However, I disagree with them in this regard, and intentionally cherrypicked what I agreed with from your comment re: Ornette and Sonny to represent, or at least introduce, my own views. I should have noted the larger context of your comment more clearly, and more concretely separated it from my own decision. When I'm done with this comment, that's first on my list.

Thanks for reading and for keeping me honest,
J