Christian McBride is not someone likely to appear on MTV's TRL. He is not played on any of the mainstream radio stations and his face is not going to grace the cover of Entertainment Weekly during their Grammy coverage. But his sixth album, "Vertical Vision," is one of the strongest to come out this year.
The album starts out with a 16-second sample of "old-tyme" jazz complete with scratches that are recognizable to anyone who has ever actually heard an old record played on an old record player. Seamlessly, the intro blends into the first actual song, the eight and a half minute "Technicolor Nightmare."
"Nightmare" brings together a slew of instruments that don't always go so well together. In this case, however, they sound like one unit playing the music in perfect harmony. The track has a modern jazz sound, but overall, listening to this CD is like sitting in a jazz time machine and traveling back and forth to different eras in the genre's history.
"The Wizard Of Montara" is another impressive track. It is played in the classic style of the late '50s jazz and sounds as if it could just as easily pop up on a Coltrane album.
With the exception of "Technicolor Nightmare" and the final song, "Boogie Woogie Waltz (live)," most of "Vertical Vision'"s songs are between three and a half to five minutes long. "Boogie" is over nine minutes and closes the album in a great way. It starts off with a slow hip-hop beat, slowly merging with funk, and ending up an incredible high-energy jam, which incorporates elements of funk and experimental jazz.
There are pianos, drums, keyboards, saxophones, guitars, and of course, acoustic and electric bass all over this album, with scattered synthesized sound to add to the spaced-out vibe on some otherwise traditional tracks. Blending the best elements of jazz and rock is the guitar, which is particularly notable for this fact thanks to outdoing similar efforts by other musicians.
"Vertical Vision" is an instrumental album and McBride is known for his talents as both an acoustic and electric bass player with a love for all types of jazz. But most members of our generation may never have the chance to know his name.
But he is one of the best contemporary musicians around and "Vertical Vision" is probably the best album to come out this year. Double-check that in December and it will probably still be one of the top quality musical works of 2003. In the context of the current musical climate, this album is a masterpiece.
Every area of jazz is represented on this album. While jazz may not be the hottest thing on the market for younger listeners, they should realize that "Vertical Vision" is accessible even to those who are not jazz lovers. It is the kind of music a listener will want to sit down and actively pay attention to, despite the fact that there is not a single word sung throughout the nine-track release.
Altogether the production is incredible. This is not an album that was just pumped out to fulfill a contract requirement with a record company, but a work that expresses the obvious love felt by Christian McBride and his band for music in general, and jazz in particular.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
