Christian McBride's second big-band album, 2017's
Bringin' It, is a robust, swaggeringly performed set of originals and standards showcasing his deft arranging skills and his ensemble's exuberant virtuosity. The album comes six years after his previous big-band outing,
The Good Feeling, and once again finds the bassist conscripting a slew of his talented cohorts (some new, others returning), including saxophonists
Steve Wilson and
Ron Blake, trumpeters
Freddie Hendrix and
Brandon Lee, trombonist
Steve Davis, pianist
Xavier Davis, drummer Quincy Phillips, and others. Together, they make a swinging, dynamic sound that brings to mind the
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra of the 1960s and bassist
Charles Mingus' various big-band recordings. It should be noted that both of those ensembles continue to live on as
the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and
Mingus Big Band, and
McBride's group matches their high artistic legacies. This is partly due to his own virtuosic skill and anchoring presence throughout all of
Bringin' It, and is true whether he is laying down a thick, groove-based funk pattern, as on the opening "Gettin' to It," or providing the steady footing for saxophonist
Wilson's guttural, bluesy introduction on "Used 'Ta Could." That said, while he certainly takes his share of solos on
Bringin' It,
McBride's focus as an arranger is clearly trained on providing his bandmates with a solid framework for their own improvisational talents. Fat-toned trumpeter
Freddie Hendrix is particularly showcased, launching skyward out of blast of brassy fire on "Gettin' to It" and skillfully surfing the band's angular harmonic waves on
Freddie Hubbard's "Thermo." Similarly, pianist
Davis emerges from the band's theatrical skronks and ersatz animal noises on
McCoy Tyner's "Sahara" with a titanic roil of thickly chorded notes like a ship on a boiling sea. Elsewhere,
McBride reveals his more urbane inclinations, showcasing vocalist
Melissa Walker on the sparkling bossa nova number "Upside Down" and his sprightly take on
Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles," while "I Thought About You" and "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" are both sweeping, gorgeously arranged ballads. With
Bringin' It,
McBride has ultimately crafted a big-band album that retains all of his own formidable, exuberant characteristics. ~ Matt Collar