He’ll perform with his band, The Whole Proof, in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New York City to launch the album dropping October 3.
Saxophonist Christopher McBride taps into the Black music diaspora to set the people, places, and events that shaped his life to music on his third album, “The Hang, The Hustle, The Path.” Rooted in bebop, swing, straight-ahead and contemporary jazz, the alto saxman, producer, composer, and arranger’s culturally rich alchemy of sound mixes in R&B, hip-hop, gospel, and Latin music on this, the first album of a trilogy. McBride’s band, The Whole Proof, features on the CR McBride Music release that drops on October 3rd and will be supported by a four-city concert tour.
Recorded in a Brooklyn studio in three days earlier this year, “The Hang, The Hustle, The Path” sounds live and McBride opens by introducing the players on the album starting with the three musicians who comprise The Whole Proof: Jon Thomas (piano, keyboards, and organ), Barry Stephenson (acoustic and electric bass), and Michael Piolet (drums). Featured guests include trumpeters Josh Evans and Wayne Tucker, guitarist Marcus Machado, and vocalists Charles Turner and J. Hoard. After the intro “Welcome (#AllDay),” McBride invites listeners to go on a personal musical journey with a soundtrack composed of ten original compositions and two reimagined covers.
“Every original song on this record was inspired by a person, place, or moment in my life so far. The title track was inspired by a conversation I had with a fellow saxophonist, Jason Marshall. Oftentimes you work and hang with the same people. You bond and they become a part of your community. You are all on the same career journey together. Then life happens. Maybe you have a major disagreement, maybe they move away. Perhaps a pandemic kept you apart for years and you both cultivated different values and morals. Your priorities change. The path you walk, not everyone is meant to walk that same path with you. Sometimes, two people might be on the same path, break away for a bit, and converge again. However, at the end of the day, we are all walking the path of life together, even if unique in our own way. This album is a complete reflection of my unique life path thus far,” said McBride, a Chicago native who is a longtime resident of New York City.
The swinging bebop cadence on “Opportunity Lost” is alacritous, frenetic, and hectic, reflecting McBride’s intention to communicate how he felt about having to miss certain life events because of other obligations.
Capturing McBride’s move from “CHI to NY,” which he wrote on the drive in a U-Haul during his move from city to city, the track swings to a hip-hop groove, tapping into the sounds of both metropolises that have immensely impacted the saxophonist’s life.
McBride wrote the chill, Latin-infused “Punta Cana” while on vacation even though he intentionally was on break from music, which means he didn’t bring his horn with him. What emerged is a soothing and serene sonic reflection of the beach and water that surrounded him at the time.
Turner’s cashmere voice croons “A Downpour of Beauty,” a love song McBride wrote for his fiancée, Chantel. It’s the first time he has penned lyrics. In this case, it’s to capture the seamless beauty of their connection.
Revisiting “Funky Good Señor Blues,” McBride’s rollicking, backyard barbecue version adds crowd sounds to underscore the fun and excitement of the piece.
Slowing down for romance, “You Are My Joy” was written for his friends, Chris and Joy Mitchell, to document their relationship.
“I always saw their love as being natural while also taking time to acknowledge issues and working through them together. Recently, they celebrated ten years together and they have three beautiful children. I wanted to write this song from Chris’ perspective and how he felt about his life partner,” McBride shared about the tune that changes tone and tempo midway through.
Mirroring the song’s subject matter, “Seven (The Human Cost)” is a powerful and commanding listen from its arresting piano opening passages through to the dissonant sounds constructed by McBride and the band along with Evans’s probing trumpet.
“In the National African American Museum of History and Culture, there is a paragraph written about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. If a slave works to survive the voyage once they landed in America, their body lasted seven years before it broke down and couldn’t work anymore. This paragraph impacted me so deeply that this composition was written the day after that museum visit,” McBride shared.
The album’s first single, “Saxophone at Night” provides a joyous, present day danceable swing number that you can line dance to, as seen in the accompanying video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJaFglgg4Ag&t=6s).
“Jeanette” celebrates McBride’s late aunt; someone he unfortunately only knew for two months.
“I met my mother’s side of the family for the first time in 2021. This tune is inspired by an aunt who I met in March that same year. She passed away two months later. It was our first time meeting, and we told each other, even though we had just met, how much we loved each other and appreciated being able to meet. This song is about celebrating life, because while sorrow is a part of the journey, there is beauty in sadness,” said McBride.
Hoard’s silky voice embraces the funky groove constructed on “Kiss of Life.” McBride told his band to imagine “if Clyde Stubblefield took Sade on a date. I wanted to present this one with more of a driving sound and more colors from the saxophone.”
“The #BAM Continuum (for NP)” showcases the collaboration between McBride and DJ Skaz Digga. McBride explains, “This composition came about from just jamming with the band between takes. When I listened to the studio takes, it sounded great, so I kept it on the album. Then I had the idea to add the DJ and show the organic chemistry between hip-hop and how it fits into Black American music. This song was inspired by my work with The Jazz Continuum, which features a live band and a DJ.”
“The Hang, The Hustle, The Path” closes with the title cut.
“The song was inspired by my childhood and where I am now. I wanted to show the connection between Chicago Juke music and swing with both styles complimenting and enhancing each other. It’s one of the biggest risks that I’ve taken in composition, and I am truly proud of how this piece came out,” McBride concluded.
“The Hang, The Hustle, The Path” is distinctly jazz presented in a variety of shades, sonicscapes, and settings both modern and historic. Although it is jazz music, the album has an inherent street edge, reflecting the influence of authentic hip-hop and dance floor cultures. Throughout the set, McBride’s sax play is astute, soulful, and impassioned. He’s being his unique self while making bold and emphatic statements, taking big courageous swings at the status quo. McBride indulges his freedom to explore, experiment, and embody a leadership role in a musical genre starved for originality and freeform expression while respecting and advocating for the history and preservation of the seminal art forms that shaped his versatile voice as a saxophonist.
To launch the new album, McBride and The Whole Proof will play shows in Chicago (Jazz Showcase from October 2-5), Los Angeles (Sam First on October 9), Atlanta (Eddie’s Attic on October 12), and New York City (Red Rooster on October 14).
McBride launched his professional career as a musician in 2007 and released his debut album, “Quatuor de Force,” in 2012. Two years ago, his acclaimed “Ramon” album climbed into the top 25 on the JazzWeek chart and remained on the chart for fourteen weeks, earning a spot on the yearend chart as one of the year’s best. McBride has played with a remarkable array of artists from the jazz, hip-hop, R&B, soul, alternative rock, and pop worlds including Billy Preston, Percy Gray, Roy Hargrove, Pete Rock, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco, Solange, Ne-Yo, Jennifer Hudson, Brandon Flowers, 88 Keys, and Marquis Hill.
As an educator, McBride has served as Director of Education at the nonprofit Second Line Arts Collective in New Orleans in addition to teaching at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Currently, he is the Musical Supervisor for The Soapbox Presents: The Stoop Sessions in Harlem and Music Director of The Jazz Continuum, both of which allow him to incorporate his passion for jazz and seamlessly mixing different genres. As a composer, McBride was selected as the 2022 Make Jazz Fellowship artist at The 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, California.
McBride’s “The Hang, The Hustle, The Path” contains the following songs:
“Welcome (#AllDay)”
“Opportunity Lost” featuring Josh Evans
“CHI to NY” featuring Wayne Tucker
“Punta Cana”
“A Downpour of Beauty (Ceta’s Song)” featuring Charles Turner and Marcus Machado
“Funky Good Señor Blues” featuring Josh Evans
“You Are My Joy”
“Seven (The Human Cost)” featuring Josh Evans
“Saxophone at Night”
“Jeanette”
“Kiss of Life” featuring J. Hoard
“The #BAM Continuum (for NP)” featuring DJ Skaz Digga
“The Hang, The Hustle, The Path”
For more information, visit https://www.crmcbridemusic.com.