Article Contributed by Missing Piece Group
Published on 2026-10-30
Photo Credit: Evelyn Freja
Today, GRAMMY® Award-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader Christian McBride released Points of Light, the debut album from his newest ensemble Ursa Major, via Mack Avenue Records. Produced by Terrace Martin (Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock), the album finds the legendary bassist weaving all of the strands of his artistry into a sonic whole. From acoustic (but never quite straight-ahead), to experimental, to fusion, the album is a showcase for McBride's relentless pursuit of new musical landscapes — in the company of four thrilling new compositional voices.
Christian McBride’s newest ensemble features an extraordinary lineup of next-generation jazz musicians, including saxophonist Nicole Glover, drummer Savannah Harris, and pianist Mike King. The release comes on the heels of “Cows,” a tune written by the ensemble’s guitarist Ely Perlman, and George Duke’s “No Rhyme, No Reason,” featuring incredible soundscapes and vocoder from Terrace Martin. McBride was also recently interviewed by PBS NewsHour, which called him “the hardest-working man in jazz.”
Over the years, Christian McBride has led a number of vibrant bands, each with its own singular identity — from the vintage acoustic jazz of Inside Straight and the boisterous swing of the Christian McBride Big Band to the classic rhythm section sound of the Christian McBride Trio, the experimental audacity of New Jawn, and his sweeping Civil Rights opus The Movement Revisited. But McBride found himself missing the anything-and-everything-goes freedom of a band that could weave together those multifarious strands. So in 2022, he began assembling the quintet that came to be known as Ursa Major, with that expansive vision in mind. “I had been itching to put together a new band, what I like to call a ‘hybrid band,’ for some time,” McBride explains. “I didn't know at first what form that band would take, but I knew that it had to be a young band.”
The resulting quintet brings together drummer Savannah Harris, saxophonist Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, and pianist Mike King — four young musicians McBride selected for their flexibility, fearlessness and individuality. Harris was recommended by a number of colleagues as someone who could bring the swing, funk and freedom McBride was looking for, while Glover came to his attention through the musicians’ grapevine as “one of the most heralded voices in jazz.” Perlman caught McBride’s ear at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass summer program, where McBride serves as Artistic Director, and King emerged as the unanimous recommendation of Harris and Glover when McBride asked them to suggest potential pianists.
Ursa Major’s debut album, Points of Light, captures the boundless spirit that has defined the band from the beginning. The title reflects the luminous individuality McBride sees in his bandmates. “I have four young stars here,” he recalls thinking. For the album’s sonic direction, McBride called in multi-instrumentalist, singer, rapper, and producer Terrace Martin, whose boundary-stretching approach bridges the band’s jazz foundation with McBride’s deep history across funk, soul, hip-hop, and pop. Martin captured the band’s live feel in the studio before adding a layer of studio wizardry alongside GRAMMY-winning producer and multi-instrumentalist Quintin Gulledge, incorporating synths, keyboards, and vocoder without interfering with the sound, vibe, and camaraderie the group had forged onstage. The album consists of original contributions from every member of the band, with the sole cover — George Duke’s 1992 single “No Rhyme, No Reason” — arising spontaneously from conversations in the control room.
“This album is basically an extension of what we've been doing live for the last four years,” McBride concludes. “It's been fun to watch a band develop and grow and progress when everything is so wide open. They don't say no to anything, which is a wonderful thing.”
About Christian McBride:
Christian McBride is an 11-time GRAMMY®-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader. Across his 30-plus-year career, McBride has collaborated with some of music’s biggest names, including Sting, Billie Eilish, James Brown, Paul McCartney, and more. He is the Artistic Director of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s TD James Moody Festival and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. McBride is also a respected educator and advocate for youth, serving as Artistic Director of JAZZ HOUSE KiDS and the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Sessions. In addition to consistent touring with his ensembles, he hosts NPR’s “Jazz Night in America” and “The Lowdown: Conversations With Christian” on SiriusXM. Last year, McBride released the GRAMMY-winning album Without Further Ado, Vol 1, featuring his esteemed Big Band with a star-studded list of guests like Sting & Andy Summers, Samara Joy, Jeffrey Osborne, Dianne Reeves, José James, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Antoinette Henry. DownBeat praised the album as “a rewarding survey of the bassist’s love for jazz, R&B and pop,” and McBride performed the album’s track “Back In Love Again” with Jeffrey Osborne on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
