More than a bass virtuoso and restlessly creative bandleader, Christian McBride is one of jazz’s foremost public intellectuals. An erudite and seemingly indefatigable force, he’s taken on a series of high profile positions running illustrious jazz institutions, including his position as SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director and his appointment as artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival. Somehow he still finds time to lead half a dozen different bands, including the two very different trios on this double bill. The recently formed Tip City is a drummerless unit with instrumentation that harkens back to the legendary trios of Nat Cole and Art Tatum, featuring rising piano star Emmet Cohen and guitar innovator Rodney Jones, a Juilliard professor who spent years on the road with Dizzy Gillespie and Lena Horn. Inside Straight showcases several of the most exciting young players on the New York scene, with 29-year-old pianist Christian Sands, saxophonistSteve Wilson, SFJAZZ Collective vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and dynamic drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.

“The deep, dark-maple tone that Christian McBride elicits from an upright bass is one of jazz’s forthright pleasures.”
— The New York Times

“The musician with the technical, compositional and emotional skills to take jazz to another plane.”
— Variety