About U-Phoria

Cecil McBee, jazz bassist, composer and Grammy award winner with three titles as leader and numerous additional recordings sees his new work “U-Phoria” debuted in the voice of Verena McBee and her quartet with Cecil as conductor and director himself.

U-Phoria’s nine tracks inhabit a wide landscape of modern tonal palettes, lyrical whimsy and unexpected delights. Verna’s lyrics to these original compositions give twists and turns and a real lift to ones emotions. This joy echoed by all those creating is abundant throughout the recording.

“Once we all started to work on the material together, Cecil navigated us skillfully through the complexity of his music and with all our combined efforts together, we have brought, with much satisfaction, creatively new, shining and finished moments for these brilliant new pieces of modern music.

It was and is a wonderful and challenging task to perform Cecil McBee’s music and to perform according to his musical ideas and unique understandings. This made the process so inspiring, creative and open, especially for us performers. Cecil’s music is a journey and it is out of all things one – very emotional material that demands attention.

Cecil was present at the rehearsals and in the studio, was guiding all of us to perform his music the way we hear, we experience and especially we feel it. What a gift to experience this process and what a new growth it has ignited in me – and I feel safe to say: in all of us.”

Verena McBee

All compositions c by Cecil McBee. Lyrics c by Verena McBee except where noted.