Performance: Christian McBride and Ursa Major

Christian McBride is an eleven-time Grammy Award-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader. He is the jazz advisor of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, co-curator of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, and co-director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. In addition, he hosts NPR’s Jazz Night in America and The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian on SiriusXM.

Whether behind the bass or away from it, McBride is always part of the music. From jazz to R&B, and pop/rock and hip hop/neo-soul to classical, he is a luminary with one hand ever reaching for new heights, and the other extended in fellowship—and perhaps the hint of a challenge—inviting audiences to join him.

In Ursa Major, McBride is joined by four rising young instrumentalists: saxophonist Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, pianist Mike King, and drummer Savannah Harris.

Part of American Panorama: Voices of a Nation at 250.