National Jazz Museum in Harlem House Band was launched in 2024 and is designed to bring the Jazz in Harlem experience to every person on the planet. Led by world class band leaders and musicians, the House Band showcases the impact that Harlem and jazz has had on global culture. The band presents a musical journey that celebrates the past and heralds the future.

This iteration of the NJMH House Band performing at the Harlem State Office Building Summer Stage Series is under the direction of saxophonist Christopher McBride.

Born in Chicago and now living in New York, Christopher McBride is a professional musician, educator, composer and arranger. His musician resume is extensive in Jazz (Marquis Hill), Hip-Hop (Pete Rock, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim) R&B (Solange, Ne-Yo) Rock (Brandon Flowers) and

beyond.

As a teacher, he has served as Director of Education for the Second Line Arts Collective and was selected as 18th Street Arts Center’s 2022 Make Jazz Fellow.

As a performing artist, he has received a Grammy win for his work as a collaborator/soloist on Steven Feifke and Bijon Watson’s 2022 album “Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra.”

He has also worked as a journalist and consultant with Forbes Ignite, the

innovation coalition of Forbes. McBride recently released his second project ‘Ramon’ in 2023 which hit the Top 25 on the JazzWeek charts & Top 100 Jazz Albums of 2023.