Bassist Christian McBride birthed his acoustic
group a few years ago by necessity of desiring a return to the hallowed Village
Vanguard in New York. His then current electric band was not deemed appropriate
by club owner Lorraine Gordon ("You can come back, Christian, but not with
that rock 'n' roll band.") Thusly, Inside Straight was born and then named
at their seminal gig at the Monterey Jazz Festival by the fans in attendance.
The three-time Grammy Award-winner brings back another installment of this group
on the new CD, "People Music." This sojourn is augmented by a couple
youngsters on the rise-Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Christian Sands, who play on two
tracks-the remainder handled with the usual aplomb my Messrs. Steve Wilson,
Warren Wolf, Peter Martin and Carl Allen.
McBride also has a part on the new disc from Michael Dease, "Coming Home."
As he writes in the liner notes, Dease's "staggering command of the
trombone has rightfully made him the in-demand player that he is today."
The trombonist has played in a host of great big bands over the years,
including those of Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Heath, Charles Tolliver, and Wayne
Shorter. For his fourth CD as a leader, he's joined by reedmen Steve Wilson and
Eric Alexander and pianist Renee Rosnes, while McBride is joined in the rhythm
section by his drummer from Inside Straight, Ulysses Owens, Jr. The disc
features five inventive Dease originals complemented by rare covers of songs by
Oscar Peterson, Freddie Hubbard and Duke Ellington.
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