Christian McBride Band

what a wonderful evening of music . first , there is no better house in nj than the 2 theaters at njpac . comfortable , fantastic acoustics , great staff , and good nearby safe parking . people , do not be scared to go to newark . and what better place to celebrate the divine one than her home town of newark . and who better than the great christian mcbride to organize this . his trio is amazing . his pianist christian sands is beyond great . so was his other pianist peter martin . and then there were the singers . sheila jordan opened . this woman with her betty page haircut is 88 years old , and is not going away quietly . i hope i have her energy and verve when i'm 88 . she killed . the second singer lisa fischer , was the reason i went . last time i saw her was with the stones , vamping with mick jagger . she came out , immediately kicked off her shoes , and took no prisoners . her voice literally brought me to tears . she also has an amazing stage presence , laughing , smiling , obviously having the time of her life . this woman radiates pure joy and love . what a beautiful person . then our third singer the multiple grammy winning dianne reeves came out . another beyond amazing performance . the trios accompiance was terrific , and mr. mcbride did not disappoint us , as the thing we all hoped for happened . for the encore we got all three women singing together , lisa, sheila and dianne . not something to be soon forgotten . what a privilege to be a part of . get off your butt and go see live music . it's magic .

I've seen Christian McBride & Inside Straight before but in more of a jazz club-type setting. This was more of a true theater & they still put on an incredible show! Shows just how versitile the group is in putting on an amazing & entertaining show. Not to menton that the music is pretty wonderful too ...

This group of artists is so amazing! They really know how to entertain and they really know their passion.

My overall impression suffered from a personnel switch: Peter Martin for Eric Reed on piano. As a fan of Reed, I was influenced to attend at the highest ticket level. My other criticism was that the tune selection was heavy with new, original pieces that kind of blurred because of their similar jam band feel. On the other hand it was good to hear a fully developed "Sophisticated Lady" by the group. Other strengths were the sax player's well developed solos and those of the vibist. McBride's skilled audience banter helped to offset the jam band effects, as well. Sometimes average is still better than nothing...