It is a rare treat when the mix of music and message is balanced to please both the hearers of the music and not feel preached at by the messenger. Christian McBride perfectly walks the tightrope on this combination of musical, narration and choral drama which celebrates Rosa Parks, Malcom X, Muhammad Ali and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.
What McBride does is have the words of these four crusading legends along with those of President Barack Obama narrated by the voices of Sonia Sanchez, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Dion Graham and Wendell Pierce in a collection of vignettes with Spartan musical support. These “Prologues” lead into big band excursions along with a powerful vocal choir that goes from Ellingtonian textures on the sleek “Sister Rosa” to a dramtic “Brother Malcom” and even a big bad and funky “Rumble In The Jungle”, capturing the famous Ali-Forman fight in Zaire.
The small combo of McBride with Warren Wolfe/vibe-perc, Geoffrey Keezer/p and Terreon Gully/dr is nimble and strong, while the various horn sections which includes all stars Steve Wilson/as-fl, Ron Blake/ Ts-ss, Steve Davis/tb and the late Lew Soloff handles the dynamics as on “Brother Malcom” and “Apotheosis: November 4, 2008” with aplomb.
The beauty of this album is that it allows the words of the cultural giants speak for themselves, woven into the musical tapestry to serve as an inspiration and not an anvil. McBride is put on the map for an album that is both relevant musically as well as meaningful for a statement for how far we have come as a United States. Bravo.