Music and the Creative Spirit by Peterson Lloyd;

Author:Peterson, Lloyd;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Published: 2006-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

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CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE

He has taken the bass out of the box and opened the possibilities for future generations of players. With his wide open and fearless attitude, Christian McBride can lay down a groove with more rhythmic feel and melodic soul than the lords of funk ever imagined.

IN 1998, YOU PARTICIPATED IN PRESIDENT CLINTON’S TOWN HALL MEETING, “RACISM AND PERFORMING ARTS.” WHAT EXACTLY WAS DISCUSSED?

The discussion consisted of the different ways that racism plays a part in the performing Arts—inside racism, outside racism, ageism, sexism, etc. In general, race always plays a part, particularly in American culture. There is always a race card being played somewhere for some reason. The jazz industry is now like any other industry. It’s money driven, image driven, and it’s a bad driven! There is just as much ageism in jazz as there is racism. For example, it’s not hip to give someone in their seventies or eighties a major label contract in jazz. Roy Haynes is one of the last surviving musicians on this earth who actually was part of the bebop revolution and is playing stronger than ever, and he’s recording for a small European label. Maybe that’s a blessing in disguise because at least he doesn’t have the pressure of being forced into something he doesn’t want to do, but still, the majors won’t give him any consideration. Why? Because he is considered old. Hank Jones is another of the last surviving musicians of the bebop revolution. I don’t know if he has recorded a CD for a major label in the last twenty-five or thirty years. Maybe he has, I don’t know. Of course I’m extra sensitive to this because I was a part of what they called the “young lion revolution” where musicians of my generation were getting major label contracts strictly because we were young and were known as the disciples of Wynton Marsalis, who, of course, is the fountainhead of what the layperson associates with young jazz musicians. But now that’s past. Guys like Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, and myself are not quite as young so they cannot play the “young lion” card anymore. So now, the whole focus is on singers. Unless you sing, you really don’t have a chance in hell. And it’s funny to watch how all of these things just arbitrarily change. About ten years ago, most labels were not even thinking about young singers. It was all about instrumentalists. For instance, Verve was one of the few labels, particularly in the early ’90s, that didn’t try to hold onto the young lions game. They were signing Joe Henderson, Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carter, Marlena Shaw and trying to revive their careers because they had their roster balanced with a lot of young artists, old artists, black artists, white artists, and South African artists. Now, Verve isn’t really a jazz label anymore.

Diana Krall is a really great friend of mine. I love her. But she is about the closest thing to hardcore jazz they have on Verve.

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