?uestlove’s Roots

Philadelphia Experiment, Dec. 15, TLA



photo: John Vettese

It became evident early on at the Philadelphia Experiment’s TLA gig that Christian McBride and ?uestlove go way back. The neo-bop bassist introduced the Afro’d one by saying, "I met this cat at the High School for Creative and Performing Arts. I saw him playing the bass line to [James Brown’s] ‘Doin’ It to Death’ one day, and knew I had just met my soulmate."

Later on, ?uest dropped his own reminiscence of performing in the school’s orchestra with McBride, where he says the two conspired to funkify everything from "New York, New York" (which they demonstrated for the crowd) to "Rhapsody in Blue." No conspiracy was necessary at the TLA, however. The combo — the two school chums, Uri Caine on keys and a special appearance by Pat Martino on guitar — straight-up delivered rich, freeform, jazzy jams, trading off solos left and right. Martino’s licks were jaw-dropping, while Caine was subtler but no less robust on his Rhodes. McBride’s upright bass work in "Ile Ife" proved to be addictive, and ?uest’s tight beats crescendoed into a vigorous solo during Marvin Gaye’s "Trouble Man Theme" that brought him to his feet, pounding on every surface he could find.

—John Vettese