Gettin’ to It: The Jazz Life of Christian McBride

Jazz legend Christian McBride visited the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus spring 2022. He spent a majority of the week working with students in the School of Music through masterclasses, culminating in a performance of his work, "The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons," at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Illinois Public Media got the opportunity to document McBride’s time here on campus. Through interviews, time spent in his masterclass and at his performance, we were able to put together two special pieces of programing celebrating the eight-time Grammy Award winner just in time for Jazz Month and International Jazz Day (April 30). “Gettin' to It: The Jazz Life of Christian McBride” features an hour-long interview with McBride, where he discussed his life in music with former Morning Edition host, Brian Moline.

"I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to talk with a musician who I have admired since he first came to prominence on the jazz scene in the late 1980s,” said Moline. “Christian McBride is one of the best jazz bassists to ever play the instrument, and I'm so glad my last project at Illinois Public Media is sharing with our listeners how he went from a young boy in Philadelphia to a true jazz legend."

Many Illinois Public Media listeners will recognize McBride through his work as host of NPR's Jazz Night in America, which airs weekly on WILL FM-90.9.