Sci-Fi: Christian Band Mcbride: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Aja

2. Uhura's Moment Returned

3. Xeres

4. Lullaby For A Ladybug

5. Science Fiction

6. Walking On The Moon

7. Havona

8. I Guess I'll Have To Forget

9. Butterfly Dreams

10. Via Mwandishi

11. The Sci-Fi Outro

Product Description

From Amazon.com

The whiz-kid acoustic and electric bassist Christian McBride grew up in Philadelphia in the '70s and '80s, and in addition to absorbing the mainstream jazz tradition, he also listened to fusion. That's the music behind this pleasing CD, which is his most complete recording since Number Two Express. With a youthful combo of like-minded compatriots, including tenor and soprano saxophonist Ron Blake, McBride, who also doubles on keyboards, dives into the now nostalgic sounds of the jazz-rock era with power and precision. His take on Steely Dan's "Aja" burns with Blake's Wayne Shorter-derived solo. Sting's Police classic, "Walking on the Moon," is rendered as a moody ballad with bass clarinetist James Carter's sepia tones. Jaco Pastorius's Weather Report anthem "Havona" retains its frenetic fury and Stanley Clarke's "Butterfly Dreams" features McBride's arco bass lead reprising Andy Bey's original vocals. McBride penned the ballad "Uhura's Moment Returned" in honor of the black Star Trek character, while "Science Fiction" recalls Return to Forever. Herbie Hancock's powerful pianism completes the Miles Davis-imaged sound picture on the neo-bop burner "Xerxes," and "Via Mwandishi," named after Hancock's seminal recording of the early '70s, is the CD's best track, with McBride laying down grooving ostinatos and Carter casting bone-deep bass clarinet tones. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Chronique amazon.fr

Dernière livraison du bassiste Christian McBride, fort prolixe ces derniers temps, aussi bien en tant que leader que comme sideman. Cet album prouve, une nouvelle fois, que McBride n'est jamais le faire-valoir de l'histoire. Il le démontre par son jeu toujours très en avant – est-ce une vertu du mixage ? –, autant que par sa contribution à l'écriture des thèmes. Sci-Fi est un album dont la veine résolument moderne comporte sa part d'acoustique bien présente. Le jeu électrique-acoustique et l'enchevêtrement binaire- ternaire donnent cette couleur du futur aux arrangements soignés du bassiste ("Uhura's Moment Returned"). Avec un clin d'oeil à Corea et Hancock (celui-ci est d'ailleurs présent sur deux plages) et quelques révérences aux grands aînés que sont Stanley Clarke et Jaco Pastorius, Christian McBride file deux pelotes de basse : l'accompagnement suggestif et le solo inventif. On aurait tort de qualifier cet album de rencontre du troisième type car, s'il s'agit pour son auteur d'une aventure de science-fiction, l'écoute attentive révèle une science bien tempérée de la corde et un rapport avec le passé même récent de cet instrument qui renvoie à un académisme de jeu au service de l'outrance des échappées. Avec des invités de marque tels que Toots Thielemans, James Carter ou Dianne Reeves, entre autres, Christian McBride offre un voyage dans le monde du jazz moderne suspendu aux haubans prolifiques de ses accords de basse. Un tour de force que d'amener Toots Thielemans ou James Carter dans ce futur voulu par le bassiste tout en respectant l'âme de ses invités. S'il s'agit de science- fiction, les Martiens sont les bienvenus. --Jean-Michel Schlosser

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars skillfully executed, but nothing memorable, April 17 2001

By

isaac "lawyer-surfer-christian" (middle of the pacific) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sci-Fi (Audio CD)

Previous albums have already placed McBride at the forefront of modern (particularly acoustic) jazz bass. This album confirms that status. I can't see anyone having any major complaints about this album; it exudes professionalism and taste. The musicians gets ample opportunity to show off their chops on burners like "Aja" (check out the wicked guitar solo by Gilmour) and "Havona" (check out McBride's acoustic work, which many players would be hard pressed to emulate even on electric), but musicality is the guiding theme throughout. That being said, I give it only three stars because, even after about ten listens, it mostly remains an undifferentiated blur. In a nutshell, I'd file this among the many slick and satisfying, but ultimately uninspiring, modern jazz recordings of recent years.

As for style, this album follows the modern jazz mold of "Number Two Express," as opposed to the more straight-ahead sound of "Gettin' to It" and the groove-oriented theme of "Family Affair."

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3.0 out of 5 stars A solid modern disc, Oct 16 2000

By

Kari Set�l� (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sci-Fi (Audio CD)

McBride's latest effort is a solid, although at best a mediocre modern jazz set. And although a bulk of the material is treated with the same rhythmic approach, a few bright spots appear. "Uhura's Moment Returned" precedes the superb "Xerxes", and ironically pianist Mitchell loans a few of Herbie Hancock's licks (Hancock plays on the next track, "Xerxes"); nevertheless he does a great work on the tune. "Xerxes" features Herbie Hancock, and his playing is pleasingly free-form and "out". On "Lullaby For A Ladybug", well, you can tell it's also Hancock alright. "Via Mwandishi" the next best track, is dedicated to one of Hancock's 70s bands. It has reedist James Carter's great work. McBride also pays homage to his other musical influences and heroes: besides Steely Dan's "Aja", Sting's "Walking On The Moon", Jaco Pastorius' "Havona" and Stanley Clarke's "Butterfly Dreams" are included. "Walking On The Moon" is a beautiful ballad treatment with Carter on bass clarinet. Especially the arrangement of the original bridge in 3/4 is great. "Havona" on the other hand turns out to be the weakest effort on the disc. The band plays it almost as Weather Report did, but WITHOUT the aggression, drive and enthusiasm. As if they were reading it from a Real Book! McBride plays Jaco's original bass lines with his upright, and loans a bit from his Weather Report solo. On the whole, I think the disc is quite unbalanced with even some smooth jazz included (listen to "I Guess I'll Have To Forget": a guaranteed radioplay tune complete with Toots Thielemans' harmonica solo).

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3.0 out of 5 stars A solid modern disc, Oct 16 2000

By

Kari Set�l� (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sci-Fi (Audio CD)

McBride's latest effort is a solid, although at best a mediocre modern jazz set. And although a bulk of the material is treated with the same rhythmic approach, a few bright spots appear. "Uhura's Moment Returned" precedes the superb "Xerxes", and ironically pianist Mitchell loans a few of Herbie Hancock's licks (Hancock plays on the next track, "Xerxes"); nevertheless he does a great work on the tune. "Xerxes" features Herbie Hancock, and his playing is pleasingly free-form and "out". On "Lullaby For A Ladybug", well, you can tell it's also Hancock alright. "Via Mwandishi" the next best track, is dedicated to one of Hancock's 70s bands. It has reedist James Carter's great work. McBride also pays homage to his other musical influences and heroes: besides Steely Dan's "Aja", Sting's "Walking On The Moon", Jaco Pastorius' "Havona" and Stanley Clarke's "Butterfly Dreams" are included. "Walking On The Moon" is a beautiful ballad treatment with Carter on bass clarinet. Especially the arrangement of the original bridge in 3/4 is great. "Havona" on the other hand turns out to be the weakest effort on the disc. The band plays it almost as Weather Report did, but WITHOUT the aggression, drive and enthusiasm. As if they were reading it from a Real Book! McBride plays Jaco's original bass lines with his upright, and loans a bit from his Weather Report solo. On the whole, I think the disc is quite unbalanced with even some smooth jazz included (listen to "I Guess I'll Have To Forget": a guaranteed radioplay tune complete with Toots Thielemans' harmonica solo).

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A mediocre modern jazz disc
Having listened to the disc I can say it didn't quite meet up my expectations. What we have here is at best a mediocre modern jazz set, which doesn't do justice to McBride's... Read more

Published on Oct 15 2000 by Kari Set�l�

5.0 out of 5 stars Christian just doesn't seem to let up
Sci-Fi is just further evidence that Christian McBride contiues to evolve as not only a musician but as a composer/songwriter as well. Read more

Published on Oct 10 2000 by Christopher LeFevre