Jazz returns to the Concert Hall Mar. 5 with Christian McBride Trio

McBride is known as one of the most important figures in today’s jazz world

Durango, CO – One of the most important and omnipresent figures in today’s jazz world, Christian McBride, comes to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College with the Christian McBride Trio, Wednesday, Mar. 5, 2014, 7 p.m.
Wrote Miamiartzine of a performance last fall, “If the Olympics had a category for jazz trios, the Christian McBride Trio took the Gold Medal.”

The Trio is touring in support of its latest release, Out Here (Aug. 2013). Pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. – both younger, emerging artists – have been performing with McBride for about three years, honing their trio conception to a fine point of expressive depth and nuance with select performances around the world.
“For McBride’s fifth outing on Mack Avenue we are treated to a stellar trio recording that embraces the old school sound of a Ray Brown brought current with the help of two rising stars in pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr.,” wrote Brent Black for Critical Jazz.
Considered a bassist extraordinaire, Christian McBride is also revered as a composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator. Born in Philadelphia in 1989, McBride moved to New York City to further his classical studies at the Juilliard School of Music, only to be snatched up by alto saxophonist Bobby Watson.

Since that time he’s worked with the best of the best jazz greats, from Sonny Rollins to Pat Metheny. In the R&B world he’s performed with, as well as arranged for Isaac Hayes, Natalie Cole, James Brown and more. He’s also collaborated with Sting, Carly Simon, Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby in the rock world. His further experience includes specialty projects with opera legend Kathleen Battle, bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer and the Shanghai Quartet.

With his music, McBride consistently combines his musical virtuosity with an innate ability to communicate his enthusiasm to an audience – a warm showmanship that transforms his passion into infectious joy. His huge, woodsy sound and precocious agility has invited comparisons to the legendary bassist Ray Brown.
As McBride writes, “‘People Music’ is my personal mantra as a musician… I figure the best way to communicate is to let the people navigate where you should go. When you pull the people in, you can go anywhere as long as they feel like they’re part of the ride.”

View a variety of Christian McBride and Christian McBride Trio videos and listen to podcasts at www.christianmcbride.com/multi.html.
Tickets for the Christian McBride Trio ($29/$39) are available on-line at www.durangoconcerts.com or call 970.247.7657, or visit the Ticket Office inside the Durango Welcome Center at 8th St. and Main Ave., Downtown Durango.

Showtime is 7 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6 p.m. On show day, the box office at the Concert Hall will be open one hour prior to curtain, and remain open through intermission.

Purchase tickets to three or more Concert Hall productions in one sales transaction and receive 10 percent off each ticket. Discounts cannot be combined, and all sales final.

The Community Concert Hall is a not-for-profit, multi-use performance venue located on the campus of Fort Lewis College. Its ability to bring a diverse spectrum of shows to Southwest Colorado is made possible through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, and through financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.