10

FRIDAY

Twenty-six-year-old bassist Christian McBride takes elements from the greatest low-enders of all time, from Oscar Pettiford to Bootsy Collins, and mashes them into a mainstream rumble all his own. McBride’s ability to uniquely play hard bop and swing as well as funk and blues is what makes him today’s most vaunted sideman; he seems to play on everyone’s records. And McBride is constantly touring, playing D.C. all the time either as a leader or a member of some all-star ensemble. So what’s the allure in attending tonight’s gig by this talented but overexposed bassman? To hear tracks from McBride’s latest as a leader, Number Two Express? To witness McBride’s talented bandmates, drummer Carl Allen, saxophonist Tim Warfield, and pianist Anthony Wonsey? Or perhaps just to revel in good mainstream jazz without going home smelling like an ashtray? See McBride at 7 p.m. in the clean air of the National Museum of Natural History’s Baird Auditorium, 10th & Constitution Ave. NW. $21. (202) 357-3030. (Christopher Porter)