Customer Reviews

Sci-Fi

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

 

 

With Sci-Fi, the bassist has scored his best album since his 1996 debut, Number Two Express. The eleven tracks here run the gamut from heartfelt ballads to serious fusion workouts, and all points in between. McBride, who is at home on both acoustic and electric bass, also doubles on keyboards. His core band--Ron Blake (saxes), Shedrick Mitchell (keyboards) and Rodney Green (drums)--and the assorted guest musicians on the CD dive headfirst into the mainly jazz-rock sounds with power and precision.

From the time you hit the play button, highlights abound on the Philadelphia native's latest album. His take on Steely Dan's "Aja" is nothing short of electrifying. Blake and Mitchell turn in inspired solos on the song, and David Gilmore's guitar solo absolutely smokes. "Uhura's Moment Returned" is a combination of the Star Trek Theme & the Oliver Nelson standard, "Stolen Moments." Mitchell shines once again on this tune, soloing effortlessly over McBride's walking bass line. After an acoustic bass solo, McBride is rejoined by the rest of the band on the song's theme.

"Xerxes" is a freeform/fusion workout, featuring Herbie Hancock on piano, and a brilliant acoustic solo by McBride. One of the best tracks on the CD is "Science Fiction." Inspired by the film, The Matrix, the song sounds a lot like Return to Forever, with exceptional musicianship from everyone involved. Bass clarinetist James Carter turns in a particularly sensitive performance on The Police's "Walking on the Moon." McBride carries the melody, with Carter filling in all the spaces, as they turn Sting's reggae classic into a moody, introspective ballad.

McBride pays homage to a number of his bass idols on Sci-Fi. One of the best is his cover of Jaco Pastorius' classic from the Weather Report days, "Havona." Retaining all of its frenetic fury, and then some, this is another of the many highlights on the CD, with a killer solo by McBride and outstanding drumming from Green. The pace slows down a bit on "I Guess I'll Have to Forget." The song features a beautiful Toots Thielemans solo, and shows yet another aspect of the musical talents of this group. "Via Mwandishi" is McBride's personal tribute to Herbie Hancock's seminal fusion group of the 70's. It starts off slow, then gets into some serious funk. The song's bassline is one of the most memorable on the disc.

Simply put, Sci-Fi is one of the best jazz albums of the year. It's sure to garner some new fans for McBride, and keep the existing ones happy as well.

Sci-Fi is just further evidence that Christian McBride contiues to evolve as not only a musician but as a composer/songwriter as well. I have been following Christian for a few years now and this record could be his best since his original (not that the other two are that far behind). His take on Steely Dan's "Aja" is absolutely perfect because he doesn't take anything away from the original version of the song but at the sametime adds a whole new dimension to it. Other hightlights from the album include "Xerxes" w/Herbie Hancock and Sting's "Walking on the Moon" and one listen to him tackle Jaco's bass line on "Havona" (on the UPRIGHT TOO!!!) will send almost any bass player to the woodshed. His band is great too (especially Rodney green on drums). All in all this is an album that should be picked up by those who enjoy good music.

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."

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).