Christopher McBride at Jazz Showcase

The son of a Honduran father and an American mother, Christopher McBride was born into a household that was filled with the diverse musical sounds of Gospel, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Soca, Dancehall, World, and R&B. He displayed a natural musical talent at an early age, singing by the age of 1. Recognizing his fascination with music, his parents sent him to Suzuki classes at the age of 4 and by age 7, he was one of the youngest members of his church choir. The turning point of Christopher's musical journey happened at age 10 where he discovered and fell in love with the saxophone. “I wanted to play Drums in beginning band, but when I saw the saxophone I immediately took to it right away,” he stated. Christopher attended well known Midwest music camps including Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Northern Illinois Summer in the Arts, Birch Creek Music Performance Center, and Interlochen Center for the Arts, where he received an award for Jazz Studies in 2000. That same year, Christopher was one of the founders of MV8, a music group that blended his love for Hip-Hop, Jazz, and R&B. The eight piece group included himself along with drummer Gabe Wallace, bass player Junius Paul, pianist Justin Dillard and many other talented young men who shared his musical passion. Christopher served as the saxophonist and MC of the group, leveraging his unique talent and personality to hype up any crowd. He reflects on those moments: "That band was full of so much energy. We learned the Jazz idioms together and the newness of the music was so fascinating." One of many highlights for the group included opening for R&B legend Mint Condition in the summer of 2005 during a show in Chicago. After high school, Christopher attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL to solidify his dedication to music and pursue a degree in Music Education. While there, he embraced other genres of music such as Classical, Rock, Alternative, Electronica, and Chicago House. In the early years of college, Christopher devoted his life to becoming an exceptional educator and musician. Since 2006, Christopher has been in high demand as a musician and clinician, performing and teaching in Illinois, Missouri and various states throughout the country. In addition, he has shared his musical gift with audiences across the globe, performing in Ireland, England, Scotland, China, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain. Throughout his career, Christopher has played with musical greats including Billy Preston, Antonio Hart, John Clayton, Jimmy Heath, Bobby Broom, Percy Gray, Roy Hargrove, Talib Kweli, 88 Keys and Milton Mustafa.