A Family Affair

by Christian McBride

Overview

Hallelujah! Christian McBride is not one of those strait-laced, down-the-line neo-boppers after all. Here, the prodigiously talented young standup bassist proves that he is also an astoundingly gifted electric bassist, and that '70s-vintage funk and soul are every bit as close to his heart as '50s and '60s hard bop. On electric, McBride weaves inventive countermelodies around tenor sax Tim Warfield's lead lines, taking Jaco Pastorius' technique a step further in sheer speed and the ability to play really nasty funk patterns. The stylistic palette of the disc is much wider than anything McBride has done before as a leader, ranging from soul ballads (a lovely cover of Stevie Wonder's nearly forgotten "Summer Soft," Wonder-like vocals from Vesta on "...Or So You Thought") to powerful funk ("Brown Funk [For Ray]"), open-ended electric jazz-rock ("Wayne's World"), and yes, straight-ahead acoustic jazz grooving (on Sly Stone's "Family Affair"). Charles Craig excels on acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, and Wurlitzer electric pianos; drummer Gregory Hutchinson fearlessly handles any stylistic curve balls that McBride throws at him; and guitarist Russell Malone and percussionist Munyungo Jackson turn up now and then. As produced by fellow polystylist George Duke, this is a most encouraging step out of the trap of lockstep bop for McBride. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Product Details

Release Date:	12/02/2022
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031525234
Rank:	113908

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Christian McBride   Primary Artist,Fretless Bass,Bass (Acoustic),Bass (Electric),Synthesizer,Keyboards,Bass
Gregory Hutchinson   Guest Artist,Drums
Tim Warfield   Guest Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Russell Malone   Guest Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Vesta Williams   Guest Artist,Vocals
Will Downing   Guest Artist,Vocals
Munyungo Jackson   Percussion,Tambourine
Charles Craig   Piano,Mini Moog,Wurlitzer,Fender Rhodes,Moog Synthesizer,Piano (Electric)

Technical Credits

Erik Zobler   Mixing,Engineer
Doug Sax   Mastering
Ronald Bell   Composer
Richard Seidel   Executive Producer
Philip Bailey   Composer
George Duke   Producer
Al McKay   Composer
Brett Swain   Assistant Engineer
Stevie Wonder   Composer
Thom Bell   Composer
Steve Beckmeier   Composer
Sylvester Stewart   Composer
Kool & the Gang   Composer
Wayne Holmes   Assistant Engineer
Linda Creed   Composer
Corine Duke   Production Coordination
Camille Tominaro   Production Coordination
Robert Zuckerman   Photography
Eric Johnson   Photography
Estee Ochoa   Stylist
Robert Zukerman   Photography
Lia Van Der Donk   Grooming
Beverly Harris   Release Coordinator
Chika Azuma   Design,Art Direction
Christian McBride   Liner Notes,Composer,Arranger