Christian McBride brings Ursa Major to Jimmy's on March 12

Days after the band's debut album "Points of Light," the bassist and his young quintet have booked a Friday night at Portsmouth's 350-seat jazz club.

Last Friday, Christian McBride released *Points of Light*, the debut album from his quintet Ursa Major. On Tuesday, Portsmouth found out where it can hear the band in person. McBride and Ursa Major play Jimmy's Jazz and Blues Club on Friday, March 12, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets run $24.75 to $108.25 through Ticketmaster. The date was announced Oct. 22.

Jimmy's holds 350. For a bassist of McBride's stature, that's a chance to hear him up close in a club, not from the back of a concert hall.

Ursa Major is McBride's newest project and, in some ways, his most forward-looking. He formed the quintet in 2022 with a group of younger players: Nicole Glover on saxophone, Ely Perlman on guitar, Mike King on keys and Savannah Harris on drums, with McBride on bass. WRTI has called it his "all-in" band. JamBase reported that *Points of Light* would arrive Oct. 30 on Mack Avenue Records. The lead single, "No Rhyme, No Reason," is the album's only cover, a George Duke tune.

A bandleader known for big stages, a young band with a new record, and a 350-seat room.

The band has spent this fall on the road. SFJAZZ hosted them for two nights in September at Miner Auditorium, and UMass Amherst brought them to Bowker Auditorium on Oct. 22, part of a run that No Treble said would cover the U.S., Japan and Europe. By March the album's songs will have had a few months of road work behind them, and in a small club they should have room to stretch.

That's the case for this show. Album-release season for a jazz band is when the material is fresh but the band already knows it inside out, and a room the size of Jimmy's puts you close enough to watch how the players listen to each other.

On the practical side: A 7:30 start leaves room for dinner in downtown Portsmouth first or a drink after.

If you've only heard McBride as a sideman, on a festival stage or in a big hall, this is a different kind of night: a working band, a new record, and a club small enough to catch every bass line. Spend the winter with *Points of Light* and show up in March knowing the tunes.

Sources: Christian McBride Announces Ursa Major Debut Album & Shares George Duke Cover (JamBase) (jambase.com); Christian McBride & Ursa Major Announce Debut Album, "Points of Light" (No Treble) (notreble.com); Christian McBride on his all-in band Ursa Major and a new single (WRTI) (wrti.org); Christian McBride's Ursa Major (SFJAZZ) (sfjazz.org); Christian McBride and Ursa Major (UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center) (arts.umass.edu); Christian McBride and Ursa Major at Jimmy's Jazz and Blues Club — Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.evyy.net)