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Christian McBride, Live at Tonic
reviewed by ted kane
Live albums can be lumped roughly into two groups, if one is so
inclined. They either make a statement--in rock and roll, The Who Live
at Leeds and the Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East are the
first two examples that come to mind--or else they are mere concert
souvenirs. Most of the Rolling Stones' efforts in this direction fall
into this latter category; they probably all do, actually, but Get Your
Ya-Yas Out is so good that I don't care.
Which brings us to this sprawling, 3 CD set from jazz bassist Christian
McBride. I think McBride is indeed trying to say something here.
Musically, McBride, his band, and several guests exhume thematic
material from 1970s funk and fusion in a seeming effort to bridge that
jazz past with the jam band present of today. The only problem is, the
set never really amounts to more than a recording culled from a week of
gigs.
There are plenty of enjoyable moments on this disc. The wonderful
young pianist sits in and provides some moments of illumination on disc
2, and McBride plays some very hip grooves throughout. It's well worth
hearing through at least once and sounds like it must have been a fun
time there in the East Village for those in attendance. On record,
though, it is simply too meandering. And not all the guest
performances work out. DJ Logic simply annoys on disc 3, and Charlie
Hunter's guitar work is hit and miss; his style, certainly derived to
some extent from the Garcian dialectic, seems particularly ill-suited
during the jam on James Brown's "Give It Up Or Turnit Loose."
Still, the summit meeting recorded on Christian McBride Live at Tonic
opens an interesting can of worms. Fusion has been the bete noir of
jazz purists, and jam bands strike many hard line rock fans the same
way. McBride stakes out some common ground here, and a foundation can
be built on it. It's just, to borrow a phrase from the aforementioned
Rolling Stones, they are in need of some restraint.
(Ropeadope, 2006)
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