Live at the Village Vanguard [2021]

The first live album from Christian McBride's dynamic quintet Inside Straight, 2021's Live at the Village Vanguard was captured during their 2014 residency at the iconic Manhattan jazz club. This was the same residency that spawned the bassist's equally thrilling 2015 trio album, and in that sense it works as a kind of companion piece to that album. Prior to forming Inside Straight, McBride had moved somewhat away from the hard-driving jazz that first established his reputation, pursuing his love of funk and rock sounds as on his 2003 album Vertical Vision, not to mention work with Sting and others. Inside Straight, while no less adventurous than those projects, brought him back to playing deeply sophisticated acoustic jazz and collaborating with his bandmates -- alto and soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, pianist Peter Martin, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and drummer Carl Allen. Although an archival release, Live at the Village Vanguard fits nicely into Inside Straight's discography chronologically, seated as it is after the group's two studio albums, 2009's Kind of Brown and 2013's People Music. Among all of McBride's various groups, including his Grammy-winning Big Band, Inside Straight feels particularly suited to live recording, favoring fiery post-bop improvisation and kinetic group interplay. Both Wilson and Martin are supremely balanced soloists, deftly constructing edgy harmonies on McBride's roiling "Fair Hope Theme" before dancing with nuanced lyricism on the Dave Brubeck-esque"Uncle John." In particular, Wolf's compositions like the propulsive bop opener "Sweet Bread" and the expansive Latin groover "Gang Gang" showcase the group's potent sound, highlighting the way his bright vibraphone works as a sonic bridge between Allen's galvanizing drumming and Wilson's rippling harmonies. Of course, pulling all of this together is McBride, whose robust and sinewy basslines remain as impressive as ever. ~ Matt Collar