erasing clouds
 

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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