CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE RETURNS TO THE PARADISE JAZZ SERIES WITH MUSIC FROM 'PRIME,' HIS LATEST NEW JAWN RECORDING

Christian McBride New Jawn Quartet

 There aren't enough fingers and toes on the human body to count the number of bands, and special projects the jazz bassist Christian McBride has formed and been intimately involved with throughout his hall-of-fame-bound career. There's his trio, big band, Philadelphia Experience, New Jawn, and Inside Straight groups, most of whose magnificence has been documented for posterity on Grammy-winning recordings "That Good Feeling" and "Bring It." On Friday night at Detroit's Orchestra Hall, McBride's New Jawn quartet trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and drummer Nasheet Waits performed an hour-plus set heavy on compositions from New Jawn's new recording "Prime." Inarguably the most cherished jazz bassist of his generation, McBride has a distinct propensity for designing bands primarily as a showcase for his bandmates. So although McBride is the marquee commodity, he affords his bandmates red-carpet treatment. The audience witnessed that last night. The band opened with "Pier 1 Import" and then moved into a free-spirited number that mixed pieces of a composition by organist Larry Young and one by the R&B group Kool & the Gang. There was an array of soul-numbing solos, starting with Strickland's Eric Dolphy-eques blowing on "Moonchild" and "Dolphy Dust." It seemed as if Strickland could tap into Dolphy's spirit at will. Evans's trumpeting the entire night was state of the art, and when McBride soloed, he proved yet again he walks the upright bass better than any current jazz bass player breathing. New Jawn's centerpiece, however, was Waits. When McBride introduced him, McBride asserted that the fire Emoji should be replaced with Waits's likeness because he's such a fiery drummer. Waits had the congregation roaring by the time he'd reached the zenith of his solos. New Jawn is as tight and sharp as barbwire, but the musician's virtuosity is what the audience probably relished most.

THE MARIA SCHNEIDER ORCHESTRA REVISITS GRAMMY-WINNING ALBUM' DATA LORDS' AT THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY CONCERT SERIES.

Composer Maria Schneider

Suppose you attended the Maria Schneider Orchestra concert at Hill Auditorium Saturday night and expected it to swing through standards from greats such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Gil Evans. In that case, you set yourself up to be disappointed. Not to say those innovators didn't heavily influence Schneider's career. Over the years, what distinguishes Schneider's orchestra is it straddles the lines of the avant-garde. That was apparent throughout the concert but more so when the orchestra performed "CQ CQ Is Anybody There, " which appeared as if Schneider had the orchestra deciphering a morse code. For those audience members hoping the orchestra would perform music from the American songbook, Schneider teased the audience, opening the two-hour concert with the standard "That Old Black Magic," but that was the only oldie her orchestra offered. The orchestra didn't run through it as initially conceived. Instead, Schneider had her orchestra strip "That Old Black Magic" down to the original surface and applied a new finish. Schneider has populated her jazz orchestra with imaginative, swing-driven improvisers such as trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis, saxophonists Donny McCaslin and Steve Wilson, trombonist Marshall Gilkes, drummer Johnathan Blake, and pianist  Gary Versace. Each of which Schneider featured during the terrific concert. The orchestra has all the music and star power of legendary swing-era big bands. As a composer, Schneider partly writes for a particular soloist, understanding every square inch of their chops. So on "Look Up," Marshall Gilkes was featured, and his solo increased the audience's blood circulation, and Steve Wilson on "Stone Song" gobbled up the notes like they were junk food. And when called to address the congregation, saxophonist Donny McClasin blew the auditorium doors off their hinges. The orchestra revisited music from Schneider's 2020 Grammy-winner "Data Lords." This live iteration of the project was equally inspired and eclectic as when Schneider initially unveiled the project.