Jazz Research

"The cortex of jazz consists of several layers, alternately hard and soft, complex in structure, and hard to take apart."

- Barry Ulanov, A History of Jazz

Christian McBride was born in 1972 to a father and uncle already richly involved in the Philadelphia Jazz scene. He grew up in that environment and attended Julliard. He quickly rose through the ranks of Jazz to become one of the most wanted Jazz bassists in the world. He played with the likes of McCoy Tyner, Sting, Kathleen Battle and Diana Krall.

The Quintet, also know as "The Inside Straight," consists of pianist Eric Reed, saxophonist Steve Wilson, drummer Carl Allen, and vibraphonist Warren Wolf. Combined with McBride, they released an album in 2009, "Kind of Brown." As well as a hit with the fans, this critically acclaimed album has been described as "his finest effort."

Like Ulanov's description of Jazz, "Kind of Brow" features both soft and hard, complex in structure songs, that vary in tempo, mood and rhythm. Overall it is one of the finest works of jazz I have heard.