Prime (Mack Avenue)
Christian McBride’s New Jawn
Released February 24, 2023
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2023
Jazzwise Top 50 Albums of the Year 2023
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About:
Christian McBride’s New Jawn — trumpeter Josh Evans (Jackie McLean, Cedar Walton, Rasheid Ali), saxophonist and bass clarinetist Marcus Strickland (Roy Haynes, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Chris Dave, Bilal, Robert Glasper), and drummer Nasheet Waits (Jason Moran, Joe Lovano, John Medeski) — is back with their highly anticipated sophomore album, Prime, the follow-up from McBride’s GRAMMY® nominated group. Featuring original compositions from each band member as well as fresh takes on songs from Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman and Larry Young, this group offers an exhilarating space of exploration for the 8-time GRAMMY® Award-winning McBride to stretch his veteran wings.
Track Listing:
1. Head Bedlam (Christian McBride) 05:47
2. Prime (Marcus Strickland) 07:29
3. Moonchild (Nasheet Waits) 04:44
4. Obsequious (Larry Young) 08:05
5. Lurkers (Christian McBride) 08:48
6. The Good Life (Ornette Coleman) 07:15
7. Dolphy Dust (Josh Evans) 05:04
8. East Broadway Rundown (Sonny Rollins) 07:17
Personnel:
Christian McBride: bass
Josh Evans: trumpet
Marcus Strickland: bass clarinet (1, 3, 5), tenor saxophone (2, 4, 6–8)
Nasheet Waits: drums
Recorded 16th & 17th December, 2021 at PowerStation, New York, NY
Produced by Christian McBride
Recorded and Mixed by Todd Whitelock
Mastered by Chris Muth
Executive-Producer: Gretchen Valade
Review:
The vibe of this sequel to the 2018 eponymous release by Christian McBride’s vigorous piano-less quartet nods more explicitly to the cracked sidewalks of post-bop. Whereas the first included just one non-original, Prime offers cheerfully angular tunes by Ornette Coleman, Larry Young (via Woody Shaw) and Sonny Rollins as well as a titular homage to Eric Dolphy. It also begins and ends with fullon, minute-plus free-for-squalls (on the smartly titled “Head Bedlam”). Yet the ensemble feels tighter than ever, and solos, nakedly exposed over bass and drums only, are succinct and stay on message. Strickland, in particular, never seems to waste a note. He wrote the fetching title track, which — now jagged, now flowing — floats over McBride’s nervous upbeat, forging ahead, mid-register, with throaty tenor saxophone tone and edgy ideas. Strickland’s sonorous bass clarinet perfectly embodies the mood of Waits’ rubato childhood reverie “Moonchild.” Is there a more exciting trumpeter out there than Josh Evans? Stuffing ideas into smeared and blatty, smashed-up phrases on Young’s zippy “Obsequious” and his own “Dolphy Dust,” Evans sounds like a bumblebee bent on sipping all the nectar from every flower, yet somehow managing to keep his balance on the way out. McBride’s Ellingtonian poem “The Lurkers” (muted trumpet and bass clarinet) showcases the bassist’s bow, creating spooky suspense and drama, hovering. Coleman’s jaunty 14-bar calypso “The Good Life” has McBride plucking fast and high, with drummer Nasheet Waits lightly tapping his toms for a sweet ring. Rollins’ “East Broadway Rundown” starts tense, with McBride repeating a single plucked note, then sliding into a swinging walk. Later he slows things down with double-stops and launches a brilliant solo that alludes to the melody’s jagged intervals. A bluff ’n‘ gruff Strickland recalls the tune’s composer, doubling back on his ideas. This is wonderful, joyful music, recalling an era when jazz was pushing at its edges with bursts of freedom. Very welcome.
Paul de Barros (DownBeat)
