McBride had already made his name as an astounding bass sideman when he recorded his first album as a leader, which nailed him as another in the long line of mainstream-minded Young Lions.
McBride would shed that tag within a few years when he brought forth his other interests, but for now he headed a series of three- to six-piece bands compromised mostly of somewhat older Young Lions similarly attached to tradition.
They're in pretty good form, too -- the tasty Cyrus Chestnut on piano, the growing trumpeter Roy Hargrove, big-toned tenorman Joshua Redman -- and the more experienced trombonist Steve Turre and drummer Lewis Nash complete the personnel.
McBride's big, rock-solid tone and melodic agility give his playing the properties of a horn -- at 22, he was a mature master -- yet his ideas as a leader were not yet as imaginative as his bass playing.
One exception -- and easily the most entertaining and musical track on the CD -- is the birth on record of McBride's bass trio with mentor Ray Brown and veteran Milt Hinton in "Splanky"; you'd never guess that three unaccompanied bassists could make such sublimely enjoyable music.
Another is the title track, whose funky tune and rhythm are audibly inspired by James Brown.
Mostly, though, this is a promising but cautious debut.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In a HurryChristian McBride | Christian McBride | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | The Shade of the Cedar TreeChristian McBride | Christian McBride | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | Too Close for ComfortJerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, George David Weiss | Christian McBride | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 31 MB |
| 4 | Sitting on a CloudChristian McBride | Christian McBride | Play | 05:46 | 13 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | SplankyNeal Hefti | Christian McBride | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 16 MB |
| 6 | Gettin' to ItChristian McBride | Christian McBride | Play | 05:30 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 7 | Stars Fell on AlabamaMitchell Parish, Frank Perkins | Christian McBride | Play | 05:23 | 12 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | Black MoonChristian McBride | Christian McBride | Play | 05:18 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 9 | King Freddie of HubbardChristian McBride | Christian McBride | Play | 07:39 | 17 MB | 52 MB |
| 10 | Night TrainJimmy Forrest, Lewis Simpkins, Oscar Washington | Christian McBride | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 15 MB |
| 53 mins | 123 MB | |||||
| 53 mins | 296 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Anderson | Engineer |
| 2 | Jerry Bock | Composer |
| 3 | Ray Brown | Bass |
| 4 | Cyrus Chestnut | Piano |
| 5 | Jimmy Forrest | Composer |
| 6 | Robert Friedrich | Assistant Engineer |
| 7 | Margery Greenspan | Art Direction |
| 8 | Roy Hargrove | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 9 | Neal Hefti | Composer |
| 10 | Milt Hinton | Bass |
| 11 | Larry Holofcener | Composer |
| 12 | Jimmy Katz | Photography |
| 13 | Christian McBride | Bass, Composer, Liner Notes, Primary Artist |
| 14 | James Minchin | Photography |
| 15 | Jonathon Mooney | Assistant Engineer |
| 16 | Lewis Nash | Drums |
| 17 | Mitchell Parish | Composer |
| 18 | Frank Perkins | Composer |
| 19 | Joshua Redman | Sax (Tenor) |
| 20 | Jeffrey Schulz | Design |
| 21 | Richard Seidel | Producer |
| 22 | Don Sickler | Producer |
| 23 | Lewis Simpkins | Composer |
| 24 | Camille Tominaro | Production Coordination |
| 25 | Allan Tucker | Mastering |
| 26 | Steve Turre | Trombone |
| 27 | Oscar Washington | Composer |
| 28 | George David Weiss | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |