Artist description I trained as a jazz musician and most of my recent work is freelancing in the Sydney scene. Over the last couple of years i've been getting into using more electronic gear for writing. I've developed an interest in electronic music and have recently been recording some on my computer at home. My band Rectangle is another story. We play original music. If it must be categorised, I guess you would call it jazz fusion. Most of the band comes from a jazz/rock background. At present, I'm interested in traditional music from India, Senegal, and Indonesia. I've found this inspiration has helped us develop our own sound. The music I write is the result of my research into various styles. Our sound is also defined by the compositions we play. The tunes are very open in structure, leaving the soloist space to explore while the rhythm section generates danceable grooves!

Music Style Jazz Fusion / World Music

Musical Influences Roy Haynes, Jaco Pastorius, The Police

Similar Artists Sean Wayland, Baecastuff

Artist History I began playing drums when I was 5 years old. My mum organised lessons for me. I grew up in Canberra and joined the Aranda Primary School band playing snare drum in grade 5. I played in the Canberra High School band under the direction of Breen Crotty. It was there that I met trombonist Anthony Kable. He suggested that I audition for the Canberra School of Music. In the mean time I began playing with guitarist Jim Fuller in his rock band "Quest". That was my first experience playing in a "band" as opposed to an school orchestra. My audition for the Canberra School of Music was successful and I began studying drums with Colin Hoorweg. That was 1989 and I was in year 12 at High School. I completed my Diploma in Jazz Studies at the Canberra Shool of Music at the end of 1992. I met a Kenyan percussionist touring through Canberra in 1991 and after many letters, I went to study with him in Mombasa for 2 months. I came to Sydney to play with Sean Wayland and Mike Nock. Since moving to Sydney, I've freelanced with people such as Dale Barlow, Lily Dior, Sam Rivers, Nathan Haines, James Muller, Lisa Parrott. I was artist in residence at the Darpana Academy of Dance, Ahmedabad, India in 1999 for 5 months. Rectangle is my first solo project. I started the band in 1998, when I returned from studying with Djembe master Madou Dembele in New York. We've been active in the Sydney scene performing at the Side-On cafe and Beach Rd. Hotel, Bondi.

Group Members Brett Hirst - Bass, Gerard Masters - Rhodes/Piano, Deva Permana - Percussion, Carl Dewhurst - Guitar, Nicholas McBride - Drums/Percussion/Composer

Instruments Rhodes, Tenor Saxophone, Double Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Drums

Albums Bandika (Seed Music 003), Rectangle (Jazzgroove Records 002)

Press Reviews Sydney Morning Herald, August 9, 1999.....Jazz CD Reviews rating - ***** (5 stars!). If you confine your listening to the Marsalis-approved young traditionalists you will soon reach the conclusion that there is a sameness about today's jazz. The successful burying of alternf39atives will make interesting reading in the future, when people will develop a belated interest in today's underground of exciting contemporary jazz, of which this Australian disc is a brilliant example. Drummer McBride has studied in America and Africa. There are tracks here from both locations, as well as equally impressive Australian sessions. The integration of African and modern funk rhythms with contemporary jazz composition and improvisation is completely unforced. The feeling is up and surging, the sound bright and full, the lines played by such stars as saxophonist Tim Hopkins, guitarist James Muller, trumpeter Phil Slater, keyboardist Sean Wayland (to name only the Australians) are bursting with fire and life. McBride's distinctive drumming, and the very sound of his drums, are among the primary delights. John Clare Drum Media Magazine, CD Reviews 3 August 1999 - Nicholas McBride "Bandika" (Seed Music 003). Whether recorded on a walkman in the Kenyan outback , Sydney pianist Sean Wayland's "Shed" or in a "real studio", the centre of Bandika's attention is the percussion of Nick McBride. His fascination with his craft has taken him all over the world, and that sense of wonderment and curiosity is plainly apparent on this album. Of course the threat to putting together a CD in this fashion - diverse recording environments, three continents, God knows how many players - is a lack of coherency in the document. And maybe the Kenyan moments read more like sweet interludes than crucial components, but all aspects of this CD are connected , even if the real impressive heart of it lies in the fusion oriented moments captured in New York and Sydney. This is rabid modern jazz, with hot playing from the likes of Tim Hopkins and Sam Lipman. Powerful and fun, where to from here, Nick? Craig N Pearce

Location Sydney, New South Wales - Australia

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