Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Helming a trio was the furthest thing from bassist Christian McBride’s mind—until an appearance with his band Inside Straight in 2009 became a trio date due to the absence of his saxophonist and vibraphonist. But instead of calling for replacements, he opted for expedience and played the gig with his pianist and drummer.
With his new release, Out Here, McBride introduces his latest working group, a trio with pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr., who have been performing with McBride’s smallest group for about three years, honing their trio conception to a fine point of expressive depth and nuance with select performances around the world.
For his fifth CD as a leader, The River, pianist and composer Ryan Cohan navigates a path that courses through East Africa and his native Chicago, reflecting the sights, sounds and emotions along its shoreline. Cohan’s most ambitious work to date, the music was inspired by a trip that his quartet made to the tumultuous regions of Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cohan was chosen as a musical ambassador in the tradition of Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington. This trip made such a powerful impression that he decided to depict it via the suite that comprises the new disc.
Also in the mix this week, guitarist John Scofield reassembles his Uberjam band after ten years apart for Uberjam Deux, a band he’s bringing to Iowa City’s Englert Theatre on September 4; veteran Canadian pianist and composer Oliver Jones documents the formidable rapport between he and his long-time sidemen, veteran bassist Eric Lagace and drummer Jim Doxas, on Just for My Lady; and bassist Tom Kennedy assembles an all-star cast including Lee Ritenour, Dave Weckl, Mike Stern, Tim Hagans and George Garzone for Just Play!.