Nine-time Grammy Award winner Christian McBride has announced the upcoming release of Without Further Ado, Vol. 1, a new album featuring his Jazz Big Band alongside an all star cast of special guests. Following up his big band’s Grammy Award-winning 2020 release For Jimmy, Wes & Oliver, the new release employs a wide array of talent, featuring Sting, Andy Summers, Samara Joy, Dianne Reeves, José James, Cécille McLorin Salvant, Jeffrey Osborne, and Antoinette Henry.
The album will be released on August 29, 2025 via Mack Avenue Records. McBride has also released the track “Murder By Numbers,” reuniting Sting with his bandmate Andy Summers for the first time since The Police’s 2007-2008 reunion tour.
McBride says:
I am absolutely thrilled to have Sting and Andy Summers — two-thirds of one of the most influential bands in history, The Police — join me for one of their songs. Sting continues to evolve gracefully as an artist, and Andy still plays with the sophisticated fire and grit he has always possessed. A huge thank you to both of them, as well as to the remarkable Pedrito Martinez, for bringing that special ‘thang’ that only he can provide.
Having played with artists ranging from Chick Corea and Wynton Marsalis to Billie Eilish and Celine Dion, several of McBride’s artistic paths converge on Without Further Ado. The inspiration and many of the arrangements for the album grew out of the annual NJPAC Gala, for which the Big Band has served as house band and McBride as musical director since 2012.
McBride adds:
We’ve always invited a bunch of great singers to come and perform at the Gala, and as musical director, I’m responsible for arranging all of the music. After so many years of writing big band charts for these incredible singers, I realized that I had stacks of music that had only been played once. This has been a fantastic opportunity to finally record some of these arrangements and to play them with some of my favorite singers.
Ahead of the album release, the Christian McBride Big Band will be performing at the Newport Jazz Festival on August 3, 2025 where they’ll be performing some of the new music from the album. In 2026 he will launch the first ever McBride’s World at Sea cruise, featuring performances with all of his bands and special guests onboard.
