Red Light Management

Christian McBride

www.christianmcbride.com/

Bio

Raised in Philadelphia, a city steeped in soul, Christian McBride moved to New York in 1989 to pursue classical studies at the Juilliard School. There he was promptly recruited to the road by saxophonist Bobby Watson. Call it a change in curriculum: a decade’s worth of study through hundreds of recording sessions and countless gigs with an ever-expanding circle of musicians. He was finding his voice, and others were learning to listen for it.

In 2000 the lessons of the road came together in the formation of what would become his longest-running project, the Christian McBride Band. Praised by writer Alan Leeds as “one of the most intoxicating, least predictable bands on the scene today,” the CMB—saxophonist Ron Blake, keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer, and drummer Terreon Gully—have been collectively evolving McBride’s all-inclusive, forward-thinking outlook on music through their incendiary live shows, as chronicled on 2006’s Live at Tonic. Part excursion, part education, the CMB is a vehicle built on a framework of experience and powered by unfettered creativity: a mesmerizing dance on the edge of an electro-acoustic fault line.

In 2009 McBride began focusing this same energy through a more traditional lens with the debut of his critically-acclaimed Inside Straight quintet, and again with the Christian McBride Big Band, whose 2012 release The Good Feeling won the GRAMMY for Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album. As his career entered its third decade, McBride added the role of mentor, tapping rising stars pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. for the Christian McBride Trio’s GRAMMY-nominated album  Out Here.

He is also a respected educator and advocate, first noted in 1997 when he spoke on former President Bill Clinton’s town hall meeting “Racism in the Performing Arts.” He has since been named Artistic Director of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions (2000), co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem (2005), and the Second Creative Chair for Jazz of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (2005).

In 1998 he combined roles, composing “The Movement, Revisited,” a four-movement suite dedicated to four of the major figures of the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The piece was commissioned by the Portland (ME) Arts Society and the National Endowment for the Arts, and performed throughout New England in the fall of 1998 with McBride’s quartet and a 30-piece gospel choir. For its tenth anniversary, “The Movement, Revisited” was expanded, rewritten, and revamped to feature an 18-piece big band and four actors/speakers in addition to the gospel choir. It was performed in Los Angeles at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and praised by the Los Angeles Times as “a work that was admirable—to paraphrase Dr. King—for both the content of its music and the character of its message.”

Currently he hosts and produces “The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian” on SiriusXM satellite radio and National Public Radio’s “Jazz Night in America,” a weekly radio show and multimedia collaboration between WBGO, NPR and Jazz at Lincoln Center, showcasing outstanding live jazz from across the country. With his staggering body of work, McBride is the ideal host, drawing on history, experience, and a gift for storytelling to bridge the gap between artist, music, and audience. He brings that same breadth of experience to bear as Artistic Advisor for Jazz Programming at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC).

Completing the circle is his work with Jazz House Kids, the nationally recognized community arts organization founded by his wife, vocalist Melissa Walker.  Exclusively dedicated to educating children through jazz, the “Jazz House” concept brings internationally renowned jazz performers to teach alongside a professional staff, offering students a wide range of creative programming that develops musical potential, enhances leadership skills, and strengthens academic performance. This shared celebration of America’s original musical art form cultivates tomorrow’s community leaders and global citizens while preserving its rich legacy for future generations.

Whether behind the bass or away from it, Christian McBride is always of the music. From jazz (Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, McCoy Tyner, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, to R&B (Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Lalah Hathaway, and the one and only Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown) to pop/rock (Sting, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, Don Henley, Bruce Hornsby) to hip-hop/neo-soul (The Roots, D’Angelo, Queen Latifah) to classical  (Kathleen Battle, Edgar Meyer, Shanghai Quartet, Sonus Quartet), he is a luminary with one hand ever reaching for new heights, and the other extended in fellowship—and perhaps the hint of a challenge—inviting us to join him.



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Contact

Agency (US, Asia, Europe)

Tour Dates

Jul 19 2025
Old Town Square
Warsaw, Poland
Jul 20 2025
Umbria Jazz Festival 2025
Perugia, Italy
Jul 22 2025
Kupferschmiede Langnau
Langnau Im Emmental, Switzerland
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Jul 24 2025
Mallorca, Spain
Sa Pobla, Spain
Jul 25 2025
Parque Botánico El Majuelo
Almuñécar, Spain
Jul 26 2025
Nice Jazz Festival 2025
Nice, France
Aug 01 2025
Newport Jazz Festival 2025
Newport, RI
Sep 12 2025
City Winery Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Sep 13 2025
Montclair Jazz Festival 2025
Montclair, NJ
Sep 26 2025
Monterey Jazz Festival 2025
Monterey, CA
Oct 02 2025
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
College Park, MD
Oct 04 2025
Flynn Center For the Performing Arts
Burlington, VT
Oct 05 2025
Sanders Theatre
Cambridge, MA
Oct 07 2025
Dakota
Minneapolis, MN
Oct 09 2025
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Kansas City, MO
Oct 10 2025
Chicago Symphony Center
Chicago, IL
Oct 13 2025
The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts
Eugene, OR
Oct 15 2025
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Beverly Hills, CA
Oct 16 2025
Presidio Theatre
San Francisco, CA
Oct 17 2025
Presidio Theatre
San Francisco, CA
Oct 18 2025
The Baker-Baum concert Hall
La Jolla, CA
Oct 19 2025
Mesa Amphitheatre
Mesa, AZ
Oct 21 2025
Scales Fine Arts Center
Winston-salem, NC
Nov 04 2025
Ronnie Scott's
London, United Kingdom
Nov 06 2025
Erbenhof Schallkultur Festival
Weimar, Germany
Nov 07 2025
Wiener Konzerthaus
Wien, Austria
Nov 08 2025
Maison De Radio France
Paris, France
Nov 09 2025
Copenhagen
København, Denmark
Jan 20 2026
Christian McBride's World At Sea 2026
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Feb 14 2026
DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Notre Dame, IN
Mar 15 2026
Elbphilharmonie Kulturcafé
Hamburg, Germany
Mar 17 2026
with Brad Mehldau
Paris, France
Mar 19 2026
BOZAR
Bruxelles, Belgium
Mar 20 2026
Maison de la Culture
Amiens, France
Mar 21 2026
Philharmonie Luxembourg
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Mar 24 2026
Auditorium-Orchestre National de Lyon
Lyon, France
Mar 27 2026
Prinzregententheater
München, Germany
Apr 07 2026
Lensic Performing Arts Center
Santa Fe, NM
Apr 09 2026
Mesa Arts Center
Mesa, AZ
Apr 11 2026
Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Costa Mesa, CA
Apr 18 2026
The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries
St. Louis, MO
Apr 21 2026
Miller Theater
Philadelphia, PA

News

06/17/2025

9x GRAMMY® Award-Winner Christian McBride Announces New Big Band Album Without Further Ado, Vol. 1 Out August 29 on Mack Avenue Records

Today, nine-time GRAMMY® Award winner Christian McBride announced the upcoming release of Without Further Ado, Vol. 1, a new album featuring his acclaimed big band and an all star cast of special…

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03/23/2024

Christian McBride’s “But Who’s Gonna Play the Melody?”

GRAMMY® Award-Winning Bassists and Composers  Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer Released New Album But Who’s Gonna Play The Melody? via Mack Avenue Records Friday, March 22nd  Limited Edition 2-LP Light Blue…

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12/18/2023

Christian McBride Performs With Billie Eilish On Saturday Night Live

The 8-time GRAMMY® Award winner Christian McBride performed with fellow GRAMMY® winning artist Billie Eilishthis weekend on Saturday Night Live. McBride brought his masterful bass performance skills to the Studio…

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