Conversations with Christian is an unusual release, as it features the veteran bassist playing duets with a number of good friends. The vocal meetings include
Angélique Kidjo,
Sting, and
Dee Dee Bridgewater (the latter with a hilarious, funky cover of
the Isley Brothers' signature song "It's Your Thing"). The pairings with musicians of
McBride's generation (trumpeter
Roy Hargrove, tenor saxophonist
Ron Blake, and guitarist
Russell Malone) all exceed expectations. There are several enjoyable duets with pianists, one featuring Latin jazz master
Eddie Palmieri, a duo improvised tango by
Chick Corea and the leader, plus an all too rare acoustic outing by the talented
George Duke (who tears up the keyboard with his hard-charging "McDukey Blues"). But
McBride's meetings with
Dr. Billy Taylor (playing his beautiful "Spiritual" with some potent arco playing by the bassist) and the elegant, swinging meeting with the gifted jazz master
Hank Jones ("Alone Together") remain moments to savor, as they are among the final recordings by the two jazz greats, both of whom died in 2010. The last track is a funky blues just for laughs, with actress
Gina Gershon joining the bassist by playing a Jew's harp, and featuring lots of comic spoken exchanges between the two. Throughout it all,
Christian McBride plays with the chameleon-like adaptability of a
Milt Hinton or
Ray Brown. In the two-plus decades since arriving on the jazz scene,
Christian McBride has demonstrated that he is a jazz master in the making, and this is easily one of his most compelling sets. ~ Ken Dryden