Christian Mcbride's New Jawn
) | Label: Catalog: MAC1133LP Format: VINYL CHRISTIAN MCBRIDEJawn [jän]: noun. A slang terminology from Philadelphia. All-purpose term for a person, place or thing. Sure, Christian McBride could have called his new ensemble the Christian McBride Quartet or the Christian McBride Group, or any number of other, somewhat more straitlaced variations on that basic theme. But this new chordless quartet – with trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and drummer Nasheet Waits – arrives with a bit too much grit under its fingernails to warrant a name quite that buttoned up. If there’s one thing the acclaimed bassist knows, it’s that when it comes to grit there’s no better resource to draw from than his own hometown, Philadelphia. So, McBride turned to one of the city’s most beloved colloquialisms to christen his latest project, Christian McBride’s New Jawn. On the band’s eponymous debut, these four stellar musicians ably walk the razor’s edge between thrilling virtuosity and gut-punch instinctiveness. “I was looking for a new challenge,” says McBride of the birth of the New Jawn. “I don’t get the chance too often to play in a chordless group. Every major group I’ve been a part of for the last ten years, whether it’s been with Pat Metheny or Chick Corea or my own projects, there’s been nothing but chords. So, I wanted to see what happens if I just pull the chords out altogether.” The result is a surprisingly bracing and adventurous outing for McBride.  Price: $41.99 |