christian mcbride

Multi-Grammy Award winning percussionist Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts is one of the most sought after musicians in the world. Watts’ extraordinary career includes a role as Rhythm Jones in Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, a three year stint on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and a legendary Grammy run with …

Grammy Award-winning Jazz bassist Ben Williams is a forward-thinking musician who crosses easily between straight-ahead, funk, and gospel-influenced jazz. A native of Washington, D.C., Williams graduated from the Duke Ellington School of Music before studying with renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker while earning a B.A. in jazz studies at Michigan State …

DIANNE REEVES is among the pre-eminent jazz vocalists in the world. In her first studio album in five years, Reeves delivers what is destined to become a soul-jazz classic. The album, Beautiful Life, also marks a new relationship with Concord Records —which is not entirely new: Reeves was featured in …

At the age of four Jamar was enrolled in a music school in his hometown of Philadelphia where he studied piano and began to compose. His first piano recital featured his own compositions!  While a freshman at Temple University, Jamar co-wrote and produced the song, Dear God, for the Grammy …

Cécile McLorin Salvant was born and raised in Miami, Florida of a French mother and a Haitian father. She started classical piano studies at 5, and began singing in the Miami Choral Society at 8. Early on, she developed an interest in classical voice, began studying with private instructors, and later …

Bass players have historically worn many hats. To be able to stop on a dime, keep it all together, and let it groove, is no easy undertaking.  Anyone who has ever listened to Motown understands this whether they know it or not. James Jamerson’s driving bass lines provided the solid …

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center is proud to present Jazz Meets Sports, a special event connecting jazz artistry and athletic performance created by Artistic Advisor and GRAMMY® Award-winning bassist Christian McBride. This special one night only program will take place on Sunday, March 2 at 7:00PM in NJPAC’s Victoria Theater. McBride is set to perform …

Bassist extraodinaire, composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator, Christian McBride, has been one of the most important and most omnipresent figures in the jazz world for 20 years. Sometimes hard to believe considering this man is not yet 40. Beginning in 1989, this Philadelphia-born bassist moved to New York City …

Dianne Reeves is a four-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer whose critically acclaimed body of work has spanned across three decades. To date, Reeves has delivered nineteen albums, including the soon-to-be released, Beautiful Life. Beyond her solo endeavors, she has lent her talents to myriad projects, ranging from George Duke’s From …

Joey DeFrancesco comes from a musical family. His Grandfather Joseph DeFrancesco (his name sake) was a reed man. And of course his father, “Papa” John DeFrancesco, is a fine jazz organist in his own right. At the age of 4, Joey began taking a strong interest in the organ. By …

Pianist Kris Bowers is one of the newest and brightest lights on the jazz landscape. Schooled in jazz and classical music, raised amid the rap and hip-hop of the 1990s, inspired by the cinematic power of the great film composers of recent decades, Bowers’ sound – though rooted in traditional …

Jon Faddis has had a long and illustrious career. At the tender age of  18, he joined Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra, then was lead trumpet in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis orchestra. He also had stints with Charles Mingus. Renowned as a trumpeter with masterful command of an unparalleled range on the …