Christian McBride, Live at Tonic (Ropeadope)

 

Three discs for the price of one is good value, and on a per note basis, Live at Tonic is a steal. In person, the jam aesthetic of playing until something cool happens can be pretty exciting because when it does, it breaks the mass of notes the same way a goal in soccer breaks the game’s tension. At home, though, without drugs or a punishingly loud PA, it’s hard to hear these jams as anything more than grooves in need of shaping.