Christian McBride takes the NJPAC stage Nov. 19 as the Moody Jazz Festival opens

The Grammy-winning bassist and festival advisor anchors a busy James Moody Jazz Festival, with a Thursday-afternoon NJPAC date among several appearances.

The TD James Moody Jazz Festival opens in Newark today, and for the next two and a half weeks one name keeps turning up on the schedule: Christian McBride. The bassist, who serves as the festival's advisor, has a new date at New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 1:30 p.m., announced Oct. 28. Tickets are through NJPAC.

That afternoon start is worth noting. A 1:30 p.m. Thursday show is a different kind of outing from a festival night: a lunch-break escape, a retiree's matinee, a chance to hear McBride without fighting evening traffic into downtown Newark.

The festival runs Nov. 6 through 22, according to the lineup announcement covered by BroadwayWorld, and McBride's name runs all through it. On Nov. 15 he hosts Bruce Hornsby for an intimate performance and conversation at NJPAC. The announcement also lists McBride with the New Jersey Symphony on Nov. 19 and 22, led by conductor Eric Jacobsen, in a program featuring George Duke's *Dark Wood: Bass Concerto for Christian McBride* and McBride's own orchestral work *Fried Bacon*.

That pairing tells you a lot about where McBride sits in jazz right now. A concerto written for him by George Duke, a piece of his own for orchestra, a conversation-and-performance with a pop-rock piano star: few bassists move between rooms like that. Over the past year he has also led his big band on *Jimmy Kimmel Live* and held a two-week residency at the Village Vanguard, as New Jersey Stage reported, while touring his quartet Ursa Major to stages from Dartmouth's Hopkins Center to Portland's Reser.

For North Jersey, McBride isn't a visiting star so much as a fixture. His ties to NJPAC run deep enough that the center and Jazz House Kids once staged a fundraiser "roast" in his honor, as NJArts.net noted, and his role advising the Moody festival puts him at the center of the region's biggest annual jazz gathering. The festival takes its name from James Moody, the saxophonist who grew up in Newark, and McBride's presence across so many of its dates is a sign of how central he has become to the program.

NJPAC itself is the right room for this kind of music. With a capacity of 3,352 in the brief's count, it's big enough for an orchestra and still built for listening, which matters when the solo instrument is an upright bass.

A concerto written for him by George Duke, a piece of his own for orchestra: few bassists move between rooms like that.

If you can only make one McBride appearance this month, the Thursday afternoon is the easy one to fit into a week. Check NJPAC for seating and the full festival schedule, and plan for a little more time downtown than you think you'll need: with a festival running, Newark will be busy.

Then sit back and let one of the best bassists alive remind you why the instrument can carry a whole stage.

Sources: NJPAC Unveils Star Studded Lineup for 2026 TD James Moody Jazz Festival – BroadwayWorld (broadwayworld.com); Christian McBride has two-week residency at Village Vanguard – New Jersey Stage (newjerseystage.com); Christian McBride Big Band performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live – New Jersey Stage (newjerseystage.com); Christian McBride to be ‘roasted’ at NJPAC/Jazz House Kids fundraiser – NJArts.net (njarts.net); Christian McBride & Ursa Major – Hopkins Center, Dartmouth (hop.dartmouth.edu); Christian McBride: Ursa Major – The Reser (thereser.org); NJPAC (njpac.org); Christian McBride at NJPAC – JamBase (jambase.com); James Moody (saxophonist) - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)