Piano trios have made jazz legends out of Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Keith Jarrett—and something similar is happening for bassist, and host of Jazz Night in America, Christian McBride.
After leading his own big bands and quintets for many years, McBride formed his first trio with pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. in 2010. Since, the Christian McBride Trio has proved itself to be a mesmerizing ensemble, further solidifying McBride's legacy in jazz.
In 2015, McBride came to the KNKX studios and gave an intimate look into the collaborative creative process that makes his trio tick.
"It starts to gel very quickly, and you start to do things together without speaking about it, because you already kind of have that rhythm going," he said.
Pianist Christian Sands was still a teenager when he joined McBride. He's learned a lot from collaborating with the talented bassist.
"He'll throw in these substitutions here and there, you know. And I have to be able to catch them. And so maybe not the first time, but maybe the second time we play it, he might do that. He may do the same thing. He may not. So I just gotta kind of be on your toes and just guess, always," Sands said.
As for drummer Owens, he said working in a rhythm section with McBride has been a gift.
"The obvious things about him is obviously his facility and his virtuosity. But I always say, to me, it's just great because he's an amazing bassist," Owens said.
Curiously, the Christian McBride Trio originally formed out of happenstance. Members of McBride's popular quintet couldn't make a string of gigs he had on the calendar, so McBride got creative.
"Both Steve Wilson, my saxophonist, and Warren Wolf, the vibraphonist, couldn't make it, so we decided to just take the gigs anyway and go as a trio. So, after about four or five gigs, I went, 'Hmm, think I might have something here,'" McBride said.
A few years later, McBride made his trio official. They recorded the studio album, Out Here, and won a Grammy for their album, Live at the Village Vanguard.
"When you're with a group of musicians...you learn each other's quirks, and you kind of, you know what's kind of going to happen, and you use that to your advantage when you're making music together," said McBride.
As his bandmates like Sands and Owens grow into band leaders themselves, McBride continues to adjust to changing personnel. But, he's continued to lead versions of his Inside Straight quintet, his big band, and of course, the Christian McBride Trio.
