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Named
in the May, 1992 issue of Rollins Stone Magazine as "Hot
Jazz Artist" of the year, Christian Mc Bride
is a young bassist from Philadelphia, Pennsylviania. Initially
influenced by his father and uncle, who are also bass players,
Christian started playing electric bass at age eight and began
formal training on the acoustic bass when he was eleven. Two
years later he was playing professionally and, in June of 1989 he
graduated from the famed High School for the Creative and
Performing Arts in Philadelphia. That same year Christian was
accepted by The Juilliard School of Music, where he commenced
studies with Homer Mensch, the legendary bass teacher. Soon after
his arrival in New York and at Juilliard, Christian was hired by
alto saxophonist Bobby Watson to play with his band at Birdland.
This was the beginning of what has been, in less than three
years, a meteoric ascent to his present status as one of the most
sought-after bassists in the world of jazz. Christian is in
constatn demand for both recorded and live performances, and is
now acclaimed by veteran and younger jazz players alike as one of
the preeminent bassists working today. In just the past year, for
example, he was featured on both the Freddie Hubbard/Joe
Henderson Big Band and John Coltrane evenings of Classical Jazz
at Lincoln Center, as well as on a special segment of "The
Edge" PBS Television series. And all of these accolades and
accomplishments have occurred before his 20th Birthday.
Christian is also a multi-instrumentalist - playing drums and
piano - and a promising composer.
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