Christian McBride Announces Ursa Major Debut Album & Shares George Duke Cover

Christian McBride's band Ursa Major is set to release their debut album, Points Of Light, on October 30 through Mack Avenue Records. The acclaimed jazz musician previewed the LP today with a take on George Duke's “No Rhyme, No Reason.”

Formed in 2022, Ursa Major is a quintet full of bright young jazz musicians including saxophonist Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, pianist Mike King and drummer Savannah Harris, with McBride rounding things out on bass.

“I have four young stars here,” Christian recalled thinking when he assembled the group. “I had been itching to put together a new band, what I like to call a ‘hybrid band,’ for some time. I didn’t know at first what form that band would take, but I knew that it had to be a young band.”

“This album is basically an extension of what we’ve been doing live for the last four years,” Christian added. “It’s been fun to watch a band develop and grow and progress when everything is so wide open. They don’t say no to anything, which is a wonderful thing.”

McBride also tapped renowned multi-instrumentalist, singer, rapper and producer Terrace Martin (Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock) to helm the record. Martin added a sixth element to the band, draping the album in synth soundscapes.

Points Of Light lead single, “No Rhyme, No Reason” is the sole cover on the album. Preview Points Of Light with “No Rhyme, No Reason” below: