Christian McBride Big Band: For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver

Jazz Polymath Christian McBride is back with another new release from his Grammy Award-winning Big Band. The new record on Mack Avenue is called For Jimmy, Wes, and Oliver and is his tribute to late greats Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, and Oliver Nelson. On the new record, Joey DeFrancesco sits in for Jimmy Smith, Mark Whitfield plugs in the guitar, while Steve Wilson and Ron Blake cover Nelson's saxophone parts. The heart of the record includes songs from 1966 records on Verve, produced by Creed Taylor, recorded together by Smith and Mongtomery that also featured arrangements by Nelson(Jimmy and Wes: The Dynamic Duo, The Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes). They also cover Miles Davis' Milestones, which includes Oliver Nelson's original arrangement.  I've been playing most of these cuts Sunday nights 9pm-Midnight on Mainstream and Modern on Jazz 91.9 WCLK. If you love the sound of electric guitar and Hammond B-3 backed with a large band, including Christian McBride's bass walking it all along, don't miss For Jimmy Wes and Oliver.