Search - Christian McBride :: Live at Tonic

Japanese Pressing. Christian spends two nights at Tonic - the downtown institution deep in the heart of the Lower East Side, playing two sets each evening. The first set of both nights catches the Christian McBride Band at its best: the all-star ensemble that has been behind (or in front) the leader for most of this century tearing through the McBride songbook. The second sets both feature Christian completely improvising every note of every song with special guests including Charlie Hunter (guitar), Jason Moran (keys), Jenny Schienman (violin), DJ Logic (turntables), Eric Krasno (guitars), Scratch (beatbox) and many more. Both nights play long into the next day as no one wants to leave the cozy confines and the beautiful vibe. The energy of the audience (a New York mix of young and old, hiphoppers and jazz heads; uptown and downtown) feeds the band, the band reciprocates and the magic is undeniable. And when Christian goes back to edit the tapes for the live recording, he decides that the magic needs to be documented, that all the music should be released, beginning to end, mistakes mixed in with the marvelous. And so it was and so it is. BMG. 2005.