Christian McBride: The Movement Revisited
For his newest solo work, Christian McBride, the most prolific bassist in contemporary jazz, has a very specific goal in mind: to cast a spotlight on four of the most significant figures in 20th-century African-American history. Focusing on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, The Movement Revisited is an ambitious concept shaped into a magnificent creation. McBride, naturally, plays bass on all of the album’s tracks, and he’s surrounded himself with a sizable team of superb musicians and vocalists. But as peerless as the playing is, this isn’t about virtuosity or stellar soloing: Using narration from Sonia Sanchez (the words of Parks), Vondie Curtis-Hall (Malcolm X), Dion Graham (Ali) and Wendell Pierce (King)—with all four reading the words of President Barack Obama—McBride, who composed, arranged and produced the project, ties together inspirational stories and thoughts that link the four civil rights giants within an equally stirring musical setting. “Soldiers (I Have a Dream)” is set to a dirge-like martial beat that, rather than drag it down, highlights the poignancy of King’s words. “Brother Malcolm,” one of a handful of tracks that includes traditional vocals, boasts the powerful Alicia Olatuja offering a rousing tribute to the fallen leader. For the work, which reportedly took some two decades to come to fruition, McBride has deliberately freed himself of genre, gliding easily between straight-ahead jazz, gospel, big-band swing and more. It’s a colossal presentation, as is only fitting for the subject that it addresses.
