The name Christian McBride is world-renowned not only amongst jazz circles but also across other musical genres. Composer, bass player and band leader are just some of the many hats he wears. Christian has worked with many of the finest musicians there are over the years.

During the course of my interview with him we touched upon many subjects including his childhood, idols – especially James Brown – courtship with his wonderful wife and how he would spend his perfect day.

PC: I know you were born in Philadelphia: what was ‘Philly’ like at that time, not in terms of music, but in terms of what was happening on the street, as a child growing up there?

CM: I grew up in West Philadelphia, which is primarily an African American section of the town. There were a lot of row homes so a lot of families were right next door to each other. There are like 14 pretty small houses right next to each other; in a two block radius there are probably 80 houses. It was a really, really close community, mostly because it had to be because it was so close together. There really wasn’t a lot of privacy but it was okay because the neighbours looked out for one another. Back in those days if somebody’s mother or somebody’s parents weren’t at home, then the neighbours had permission to look after that particular child and they would discipline them as if they were their own child, until their parents got home.

PC: Would you have family members living in those row houses nearby?

CM: In our neighbourhood not a lot of us had dads, a few of us did but a lot of us were either being raised by our mother or our grandmothers both, like me. I grew up in a house with just my mother and her mother, that was pretty much the case for many (not all) of the other kids in our neighbourhood as well but we all had strong mothers. Many of us had a good team around us: a lot of playing in the street, a lot of fun and games as all kids do, a lot of basketball, a lot of street football, a lot of stickball and neighbours’ windows getting broken.

PC: A typical childhood!

CM: A typical childhood. There was so much fun, and of course we had our neighbourhood thugs and bullies, just like every neighbourhood does and I got bullied a lot because I was always nerdy – I wasn’t like the cool kid.

PC: And yet you are so cool now.

CM: (Laughs) I had my challenges as a kid but once I discovered music I had some place to retreat.

PC: I was amazed to read you were going with your uncle, as young as 4 years old, to see the likes of Gladys Knight and The Pips and bands like that.

CM: It was a wonderful… that was the best part of my childhood, going to live shows with my uncle and my mother.

PC: When you were there, would you be on your uncle’s shoulders or playing at your mother’s feet, or what?

CM: A little bit of both. My mother would put me on her shoulders. Most of the time I was really into the music, so I would be up on my feet really kind of checking it all out.

Going to sporting events with my grandfather, that was a lot of fun as well. Hanging out with my family was the best part.

PC: Were you close to your father?

CM: Oh yeah! Even though my father didn’t live with us – my parents weren’t married – I still had a good relationship with my dad and I saw him regularly and he was actually living in New York from I believe 1979 – 1983.

PC: What year were you born in?

CM: 1972. My mother and I would go visit him in New York and right as I was starting middle school he moved back to Philly permanently and I still got to see him quite often and we always had a very good relationship. I guess my family wasn’t what one would call a ‘traditional family’ but it was a wonderfully close family and everyone did what they had to do to make sure that I was okay.

PC: Do you have siblings?

CM: No, I am an only child. I will tell you I was not spoiled, my mother made me… I was spoiled in the sense that she gave me everything I needed to pursue my career in music but I still had to practise. I wasn’t allowed to go out on the street and have a lot of fun, particularly once I started getting into music. She made sure that I was active all the time.

PC: Well that didn’t do you any harm did it?

CM: That’s right!

PC: I know your father was a musician but did your mother play an instrument?

CM: She tried: she played piano for maybe a year or two and she was getting pretty good at it but then she stopped. I still tease her about that, ‘Ma, why did you stop? You were making some progress.’

PC: And she replies?

CM: You know, she just throws her hands in the air and says, ‘Oh I don’t know. I got tired of it.’

PC: You saw your father perform when you were 8 years old and something inside you clicked and you wanted to learn bass?

CM: I had seen him play quite a number of times when I was a kid but there was this particular concert – I don’t know why it was this one. It was in 1980 in Atlantic City and my dad was playing with the great Mongo Santamaria so I turned to my mother and I said, ‘Mom I want to try to play the bass,’ and without flinching she said, ‘Okay fine. We will get you a bass.’

There were never any comments like, ‘You don’t want to be a musician,’ or, ‘You want a real job.’ I know a lot of musicians go through that with their parents. Parents often think being a musician is not a ‘real job’ they say, ‘You got to be a doctor, you got to be a lawyer, do something where you get a steady pay check.’

PC: That seems to be a common thing amongst the successful actors and musicians I’ve interviewed: a lot put their success down to their mother’s unwavering support.

CM: I was always fortunate and I know, had I been playing bass for a year or two and decided I didn’t like it and wanted to do something else, she would have supported that. But the minute I touched my first electric bass, I fell in love with it and I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life.

PC: Your uncle was a big influence too wasn’t he?

CM: Yes and he is the jazz historian of the family. Once I got to middle school and started playing the double bass he got so excited. He invited me over to his house and he played all these jazz albums for me for hours and he was explaining the music to me as we were listening. And I got so much joy out of experiencing his joy because he would listen to (well he still does this) [when] he listens to records he actually responds physically: he snaps his fingers or stomps his feet or he’s always nodding his head. There is something about the music that always makes him move. Even if it’s music that’s sort of abstract, he always finds some place in the music to escape to and I think watching my uncle listen to music made me want to play jazz.

PC: It must have been as equally exciting for him to think you were absorbing it and you were excited about the music. It would be the same for you, if you were doing that with a youngster now I suppose.

CM: After I spent that afternoon with him, I was hooked – I wanted to learn about jazz. About a week later Uncle Howard brought me a stack of albums to listen to. He said, ‘Here’s some music to get you started on your musical journey.’

PC: Whose recordings did he bring over?

CM: Oh everybody: Miles Davis, Charles Mingus. But the record that really captured my attention was the famous 1953 concert of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach – Jazz At Massey Hall that record was called. That album really sealed the deal for me. I wanted to be nothing but a jazz musician. The energy that came off of that record, the joy, the energy, the power, the fun that they were having on that record. I knew who Dizzy Gillespie was and hearing him… if you know that recording well you can hear Dizzy egging the band members on whilst they are soloing – he is shouting and laughing, I mean, he is really silly. He totally earned his nickname: he was always a bit of a comedian, you can actually hear it in this record and so this genius music being played by these five gentleman who really seem like they are having fun! I think that’s what really captured me about that album.

PC: And if you put that album on now, does it stir up those same emotions for you?

CM: Same, same emotions, that’s right.

PC: How would you define, or how would you sum up with words, what the word ‘jazz’ means to you?

CM: You know it when you feel it.

PC: Is it like how an artist paints: something that is formulated or created in your mind and then your instrument is an extension of your thoughts that you use to express yourself? Or does it work in a different way? For example: when a rapper ‘raps’ he is telling a story, is your instrument doing that?

CM: Oh very much so, very much so. I think rappers who can freestyle, they are jazz musicians at heart – they are improvising. I’ve always felt that rappers who can freestyle, that’s how you separate the men from the boys. I think really great rappers are ones who aren’t afraid to work with jazz musicians.

PC: I was surprised at the various genres of musicians you have worked with. You’re in that same position, in that you are quite happy to work with rappers, which some people might be surprised about.

CM: Yeah, I am as happy to work with them as I am a chamber orchestra.

PC: What path did you take from the point of your uncle bringing over those records, to going to Juilliard?

CM: At the same time I was learning jazz, I was learning classical music. I was playing in the school orchestra and taking private lessons for the first time and learning orchestral repertoire and I fell in love with that as well. In fact my first bass teacher, her name is Margie Keefe, she took me to my first classical concert. She took me to see Yo-Yo Ma with The Philadelphia Orchestra and this would have been late 1983 – early 1984.

PC: How old were you then?

CM: I was 11 and I’d never been to a symphony orchestra concert before, seeing the orchestra in their tuxedos… Riccardo Muti was conducting and he was a legend in Philadelphia. Yo-Yo Ma comes out and he played. One of the pieces he played that night was the Haydn Cello Concerto in D major and, just like with Dizzy Gillespie , I could see he was having so much fun: it was not work for him, you could tell that he took great joy in learning how to play this piece.

Even in middle school I saw how serious all of the classical musicians were, they treated a piece of music as if, if they didn’t learn it correctly they were going to die! I thought, ‘Man, it shouldn’t be that serious.’ You can learn everything about the nuance of music and learn how to express it to a place where you think it’s appropriate, without having it be an unpleasant experience. When I saw Yo-Yo Ma that night he sort of ruined it for me because every classical musician I ever met or saw after that, my example was Yo-Yo Ma and he was smiling and having fun – it almost looked as if he was dancing with his cello. I thought, ‘That’s a beautiful place to be, if you are playing music.’

PC: Yes and it’s the same with Louis Armstrong when he’s singing and playing, nothing beats that big broad smile, he has such joy and love for what he’s doing.

CM: That’s right!

PC: You went to Juilliard but left because you were getting paid work continually. How did your parents react to you quitting such an illustrious institution? Were they cool with that?

CM: Well it took my mother a few minutes to process when I told her that I didn’t want to go back to Juilliard for my second year. She was a little worried as I’m sure any parent would be. But after having a long heart talk conversation with her she said, ‘Well, I trust you. I think that you know what you are doing.’ That’s how it happened and at that point I was already working with Roy Hargrove, I was working with Bobby Watson and I’d started working with Freddie Hubbard.

PC: Yeah, I watched an interview where you talked about the second time you performed with Freddie. Can you retell it quickly for those who haven’t heard it?

CM: Well it was the first time that I actually subbed a gig in his quintet, in his touring band. (I had played with him once before but I didn’t think he remembered, I was part of the house band somewhere in the south). I finally got the call to play with his quintet – his actual quintet. He just didn’t acknowledge me the whole night, I was just this anonymous no-faced bass player – or so I thought – and at the end of the night he told the audience, ‘Can I have a round of applause for my new bass player.’ He actually said that over the microphone! That was just so incredible and so, for the next two-and-a-half years I had a wonderful time playing with him.

PC: Wow! What was he like as a person? A nice man? Genuine?

CM: Freddie: he was a beautiful man. He was a wonderful, spirited man. He had some demons, like I think many of his generation had, but he was a wonderful person to be around, and I learned so much from him. I think about him everyday.

PC: Who did you hook up with after you finished playing with Freddie?

CM: Freddie started having lip problems and he was having trouble playing the trumpet and it was becoming difficult for him to work, so I went on my first tour with Pat Metheny, that was in 1993. In 1993-94 that was between Pat Metheny and Joshua Redman. Joshua Redman’s band at that time was, of course, with Brad Mehldau and Brian Blade as well as myself. I enjoyed playing with Joshua, who was up and coming at that time. The irony of Joshua’s band was that, although I was the youngest in the band, I was the one who had the most experience because I had already played with Freddie and I’d been playing with Benny Green, I’d played with Bobby Watson and Roy Hargrove – so Joshua was probably the least experienced out of anyone in his own band!

PC: How did you get you get these calls? Was it literally that you were so good? I mean you have worked with everybody!

CM: The thing about jazz is word of mouth is still the most powerful way in. You are talking about getting the word out on a particular musician. Then if you go out and prove it, then word spreads even quicker.

PC: I loved your comments when you were defending Jerome Jennings – when someone called him out and said he wasn’t ready to play alongside you – and you said it was more important for someone to be feeling the music than to necessarily having had tons of experience. I thought that was a really encouraging thing to say. I like that you stood up for him.

CM: Well you know I also realised that social media is like a… it can be a toilet, you know. Often people decide to say the worst of things on social media: their anonymity gives them this false sense of toughness and they make their opinions as such where they would never say them to that person to their face.

PC: I had my first troll yesterday but I just decided to ignore them, crazy talk though.

CM: That’s the best thing, the last thing you want to do is actually engage a troll.

That piece you were referring to about Jerome – the comment that, that person left was something like: ‘Jerome didn’t know the heads, or didn’t know the arrangements’ or something like that. I replied that it was Jerome’s very first concert with me – he’d literally never played with me before that video – [there] was a lot of pressure (playing his first concert with me) and it was also going to be a television show… and then on YouTube you get some jackass coming and going, ‘Oh, he didn’t really know your music!’ Well, considering it was his very first concert, I think he did a great job!

PC: You calmed them down anyway, they came back on and apologised. Who are you checking out from the new generation of bassists, or the youngsters on the jazz scene, who are making waves?

CM: There are so many good musicians on the scene now, it’s really a challenge to keep up. Just in terms of bass players, some of my favourite younger bass players actually aren’t even that young anymore – people like Ben Williams and Joe Sanders (laughs): I love Joe, I love Matt Brewer, I love this young man named Russell Hall, I love this young lady Linda Oh (who’s been working with Pat Metheny a little bit). And a lot of none bass-playing artists, just really out there killing it, I love Josh Evans a young trumpet player who plays in my quartet.

PC: Have you heard Ibrahim Maalouf? I really like him.

CM: Oh yes, of course.

PC: And Melody Gardot, I think they recorded something together.

CM: Yes she’s my home girl: she’s from Philadelphia.

PC: Another band, who I’m sure are a U.K band, called Dinosaur I like. The female trumpet player Laura Jurd is quite amazing.

CM: I am not familiar with them, thank you for putting me onto them.

PC: There are a lot of new bands who are non-jazz that are really good, I think it’s an exciting time in music right now.

CM: Yes, I think so.

PC: I always like to talk a bit of romance in my interviews, as in: how you wooed your wonderful wife?

CM: We actually met… we met twice as I like to say. I first met Melissa in 1993, she had just moved to New York – she was living in New Jersey.

PC: Is that where she is from?

CM: No, she is from Canada. She was born and raised in Edmonton and she went to college at Brown university in Rhode Island and then she moved to Washington D.C to start her professional career, which was actually in law, and whilst she was doing that she fell in love with music.

PC: I thought you were going to say she fell in love with you…

CM: No I came way later than that.

She left Washington D.C. She moved to New Jersey and started working at Prudential – all the while she was moonlighting as a jazz singer. She came to this club where I was performing one night – and it’s funny because I was sitting at the table with the ‘Marsalis girls’, a table full of the girlfriends and wives of Branford Marsalis’s group who had come to hear me play that night so Branford’s wife was there, Kenny Kirkland’s girlfriend and Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts’s girlfriend, I was sitting at a table with them. So Melissa comes walking in and all three of those ladies looked up and said, ‘Damn! Who’s that girl? She’s gorgeous!’ Now, if three women say another woman is gorgeous, she must be gorgeous! So one of them said, ‘Oh that’s that girl Melissa Walker. She just moved here from D.C. She’s a singer.’ And even at age 21 I knew I was much too young and too stupid to ever approach her, to ask for a date or such. I just knew I wasn’t ready. She was much too beautiful!

PC: Way out of your league… (laughs)

CM: Exactly! So at some point I went over to say hello to her. I said, ‘Hi Melissa Walker. I’m Christian McBride.’ And she so casually looked up and she said, ‘I know who you are!’

PC: Ohh! You do?

CM: Yeah right! So then I would just kind of see her in jazz clubs and festivals and things like that. I’d see she would be working around town and we didn’t keep in touch – I just saw her around. So anyway fast forward 10 years…

PC: Wow!

CM: That’s how long it took, yeah. Ron Blake, who played saxophone in my quartet many, many years ago (he still plays in my big band) his wife at the time and Melissa were best friends, and so, when Ron and I started to play together, I once overheard them speaking about Melissa and they said, ‘Poor Melissa, she just seems so unhappy.’ I asked, ‘Why is she unhappy?’ She said, ‘Well, you know she is single again.’ So Ron and his wife were kind of like giving me the nudge nudge, wink wink kind of thing.

I said, ‘No! I’m a single man and I like it that way. I’m not trying to ruin my life getting married.’ All that kind of stupid stuff. I said, ‘No, no, no, I don’t want to get married! Nah, nah, nah.’

So when the war in Iraq started in 2003, there was a rally – there was a march from Times Square to Washington Square Park – and I went. So I had my picket signs, I had my buttons: I had ‘leave Afghanistan now’, ‘USA does not need to run the world’ (I still feel that way). Later that night I went to go hear Ron at a club and Melissa was there. Melissa had also been at the rally that day so we were sat there talking and she said, ‘Were you at the rally?’ I said, ‘I sure was.’ She said, ‘Oh man that’s incredible. It’s nice to know that, as busy as you are, that you found time to protest what you believe in.’ So we started talking about politics and life and music. We sat there talking for about three hours and I said, ‘You know, Melissa, in 10 years that’s the first real conversation we ever had.’ She said, ‘Yeah, isn’t that interesting.’ So I walked her to her cab and when her cab pulled away I knew that we were going to get married. That was one of the few times in my life I’ve had an epiphany. I knew she was going to be my wife just from that one conversation.

PC: Funnily enough I had a very similar scenario with my husband.

CM: Sometimes you just know. That was 15 years ago.

PC: That’s sweet I love that story. Your wife sang the vocals on your recording of Mr Bojangles?

CM: Yeah on “Upside Down” and “Mr Bojangles”.

PC: I’d like to get your wife’s take on the romance, there’s often slight differences: the guy remembers one thing and the lady another.

CM: See if our statuses collaborate.

PC: I heard in an interview that you promised yourself as a younger man, that should you ever have the opportunity to give something back you would, and you are doing that in spades with the school Jazz House Kids: is that correct?

CM: Yes Jazz House Kids. It’s in Montclair, New Jersey where Melissa and I live and that’s an organisation that actually Melissa started – literally just before we met. She had been called up to do some masterclasses for our local jazz radio station here WBGO. They had a kids’ programme back then, where they would go into different elementary schools or some sort of space in the neighbourhood and have a musician come and do a master class, and so they asked Melissa. At the time Melissa had no experience in doing that – she said she was so nervous about being in front of young kids because, you know, young kids are brutal.

PC: Yeah they can be a tough audience.

CM: Right! So she did it and she fell in love with it and she fell so much in love with it she decided she would start an organisation teaching kids through jazz: the organisation just had its 15th anniversary celebration back in October.

I’m very proud of what the school has been able to do in helping a lot of young musicians learn about this great history; they learn how to express themselves through the jazz language and they just keep themselves doing something positive.

PC: Do you do a masterclass there yourself?

CM: On occasion. I am on the road most of the time so I’m rarely around to give masterclasses there. I certainly give them all the time on the road. Even if I don’t have the chance to do masterclasses, anytime some young kids or some college students come to the show I am more than happy to spend time with them afterwards.

PC: The government the U.K has slashed funding for children learning an instrument in schools which is a shame. My own son played the trumpet throughout his last year in primary and all the way through high school and benefited greatly. It boosted his confidence, taught him discipline and respect and he had a lot of fun playing in concerts.

CM: Which is why an organisation like Jazz House Kids, or any other organisation that does work like that, is so important now because there used to be the issue of getting children interested in playing music, well now there are two problems: there are kids that we are trying to get interested in playing an instrument and if they do become interested in playing an instrument where are they going to lean how to play it? Sometimes this world we live in gets… the more we make progress, we are regressing in so many ways.

PC: Yeah absolutely and someone (I can’t remember who) was saying that nowadays kids think X-Factor or The Voice, is real music, because that’s the only picture they have – and it’s often pre-fabricated to be presented in such a way rather than real, raw music.

CM: Yes!

PC: So you have worked with so many people, do you have a personal highlight of one person you have worked with, or is that just impossible to choose?

CM: James Brown! That’s always easy, anytime you get to share the stage with your childhood hero…

PC: What was James Brown like? Did you get much of a chance to know him or not at all?

CM: Oh did I! It’s much too long of a story but you know the James Brown story has been told so often. James Brown was a number of people and they could interchange at the drop of a hat.

PC: Tell me more.

CM: The phrase ‘self-made man’ gets thrown around a little too casually sometimes – anytime you get some tough guy who doesn’t do well at taking orders they call [him] a ‘self-made man’ – but James Brown very much was that: in the sense that he grew up with no parents. I mean, obviously he had parents he had to get into this world, but he was raised by his aunt from the time he was four years old.

He grew up in a brothel with very little education. I think he dropped out of school in the 7th grade and he wound up going to jail, at age 14 – 15 (I believe it was at a juvenile prison). Growing up in the South at that time, particularly in the Deep South, one will never really know just how hard [it was for] a young kid with no parents and no education and no money could live. Going to prison in his teen years, that’s a level of strife that I don’t think most people can identify with; you read about it and we intellectualise it, but unless you have experienced it, no one really knows just how hard James Brown had it.

He decides that he loves music and then this man literally pulled himself out of his own doldrums to become this major superstar that he became and he did it from pure drive. He was not going to let his life be that way. He was going to get out of that life. He was going to teach himself about business. He was not scared to make mistakes because he understood very early in life, as much as we try to avoid mistakes, mistakes is actually how you learn.

James Brown was much more intense than the most intense army drill sergeant. Playing with James Brown was very much like being in the military: there was no such thing as being tired [that] was never an option because for him, he thought, ‘Look how hard I worked to be who I am, therefore you should have no excuse!’ James Brown thought, ‘If you had the benefit of going to school, graduating from high school, graduating from college, having both of your parents – there is absolutely no excuse for you to be doing at least as good as me!’ So he never, never understood the concept of laziness or underachieving – you know that didn’t compute with him. (Laughs heartily) ‘What do you mean you graduated from college and don’t have a job? Well, make a job!’ His thing wouldn’t be like: if you are trying really hard to find a job and you can’t find a job then create your own job.

PC: Yeah, no-nonsense, no excuses!

CM: No excuses!

PC: How did you get involved with James Brown?

CM: Well I loved him so much – I’ve actually been working on a book for the last six years now about my time spent with James Brown, just kind of tracking him down, becoming a part of his world. I know that in James Brown’s world I was very much a very tiny, minuscule part but for me, I loved his music and I was influenced by him so much, just to be able to spend the times we did, particularly in the late ‘90s and also right before he died, when we played together at The Hollywood Bowl, that meant the world to me.

PC: How did you get to connect with him for the very first time?

CM: The very first time I met him I was a kid. My Uncle Butch (my mother’s brother) he took me backstage to meet him at the Uptown Theater in North Philadelphia when I was 11 years old. I’d never been that scared and mesmerised! There’s the great James Brown standing in front of me, I don’t know what to say. But the next time I got to meet him, I met him backstage at The Apollo Theater when he was making what turned out to be Live At The Apollo volume 4 album.

The first time I met him – where we actually had a conversation, when he knew who I was – that was in the following year, the summer of 1995. We were staying in the same hotel in Vienna, Austria. By then I’d got to know a number of his band members, the security guards and my first record had just come out so a lot of people in his organisation knew who I was, so I got to meet and talk to James Brown in the lobby.

PC: What would you even say to James Brown?

CM: I had sent him a copy of my first CD which is called Gettin’ To It the actual song “Gettin’ To It” was based on a James Brown song called “Get It Together” so when I reminded Mr Brown of this, he actually knew what I was talking about. I couldn’t believe it! Which you know he obviously listened to it and that really, really just…

PC: Blew your mind!

CM: Yeah, you know and then there’s a lot more story that goes after that but that’s how it started.

PC: I was looking at your quartet, Jawn, is it pronounced? It’s a Philly word, yes?

CM: Jawn – the J is actually pronounced. It’s basically a substitute word for ‘thing’.

PC: Would you like to tell me about the other guys, for those who don’t know?

CM: Sure! I have the great Nasheet Waits on drums – Nasheet of course spent many years playing with Jason Moran’s Bandwagon and a lot of great people – Fred Hirsch, Tom Harrell and Antonio Hart.

When I first started the quartet I didn’t know how to describe the sound that I was hearing in my head but I know that, rhythmically, I wanted somebody who was very flexible, you know like elastic, but who also had a lot of fire and I couldn’t think of anyone else other than Nasheet – I just assumed that he would be too busy to join my band. We had our first gig at The Village Vanguard in December of 2015 or 2014 (I can’t remember) but Nasheet came in, he did a great job and he seemed to enjoy himself and from that point on he’s been ‘The Man’.

I love working with him and our trumpet player Josh Evans. I always love to try and stay current on who the young guys [are] out there who are really ‘chillin’ it. I’d been hearing Josh’s name around, people really seemed to like him and so I went on YouTube to do a little research. I go to YouTube and I put in Josh Evans trumpet and a lot of videos came up and I saw that he had a big band that he led at Smalls in New York. Musically we just seemed to be on the same page: liked the same people, we listened to the same records. I think we think the same in terms of… just everything music we seem to agree on – so he’s been the guy on trumpet.

Marcus Strickland: I have to go out of my way to let Marcus know that I don’t take him for granted, because he is so rock solid! Every band that he plays in he is always amazing! If you know somebody who is always going to hit a home run, someone who is always going to sound great, going to be professional, you call Marcus Strickland. He has been such a grounding force in that band: he brings a lot of stability and he just gives us a nice foundation, in both music and personality-wise. He’s just one of my favourite musicians of all time.

PC: That is quite a special line up!

CM: You haven’t heard this band yet live, have you?

PC: No I haven’t but I know you are playing The Union Chapel in London in July. I hope I shall be able to at least catch you. Are you coming with the band?

CM: I think you will like it. I hope you like it.

PC: You have a new album coming out this year?

CM: Yes, has don’t think it will be released before the summer. I think, right now, the schedule is for it to be released in August.

PC: Getting back to The Vanguard: I very much like your Live at The Village Vanguard album and especially “Fried Pies” – I love that one.

You have a two-week slot each December at the Vanguard?

CM: Yes.

PC: All of us die-hard fans of NBC’s The Blacklist know about the Vanguard because it’s mentioned by your friend Mr Spader who, as his character Red Reddington, does one of his monologues where he says, ‘I want one more night of jazz at the Vanguard,’ so it was brought to everyone’s attention.

CM: Yeah!

PC: How did you hook up with James or how do you know him, I suppose?

CM: Well I only know him because he’s a regular. I guess, starting three or four years ago, he started coming to see me at least twice during both of my weeks at the Vanguard. We just got to be friends. I love the fact that he goes there all the time. He might be the biggest celebrity jazz fan that I know of.

PC: I know and he’s so open about it. There are quite a few of the fans of The Blacklist who have turned up there merely to see James Spader, but then it’s a win for you because some say, ‘Oh, and I saw Christian McBride.’

CM: I know, right! When he went on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, later that day, I got a text message from Questlove: he said, ‘Make sure your wife tapes the show tonight. James gave you a real big shout out.’ And he wrote, ‘I mean really big!’

PC: It’s not bad having James Spader as your promo guy is it? (Both laugh).

I saw some of your photos together as well. Is it pipes you have in one of the photographs?

CM: Yes, I have been smoking a pipe for almost 10 years now.

PC: Stop being a bad influence on the man.

CM: I know!

PC: Is the Vanguard a special venue for you? How does it compare to a bigger venue?

CM: It all depends. I think that smaller venues, at least when it comes to jazz, you can feel the music better; you are literally closer to the music and the energy on stage. But I love big venues as well; you can find as much as a vibe in a larger venue as well. I’ve had some wonderful performances in larger venues.

PC: Like the Hollywood Bowl with James Brown!

CM: Yeah, that’s probably the largest venue anyone can play – I mean, unless you play a stadium. The Hollywood Bowl is 17,500 seats, so that’s a lot of people to try and touch.

PC: Does the late night jazz scene fit in with your nocturnal leanings? Are you a morning person or are you not fit to talk to until you have had some coffee? Does jazz suit you, being out at night or at a late hour?

CM: I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday (my producer at the NPR show that I host, Jazz Night In America) she was telling me that when she was in high school, her jazz band used to rehearse at 7 o’clock in the morning. We were all sitting at the table like: ‘Who plays jazz at 7 o’clock in the morning? Unless you’ve been up all night?’

PC: Exactly!

CM: So no, I’m very much a night person. I’m quite nocturnal.

PC: How about your wife, is she the same or is she like ‘for goodness sake Christian, will you get out of bed!’?

CM: Not at all, we are opposites like that. It annoys her every now and then because she will go to bed at a regular hour like most people and I’m wired. I want to play or write some music and then she will wake up after like an hour or two and say, ‘It’s 1 o’clock you should come to bed,’ I’m like, ‘1 o’clock is early!’

PC: Then it gets to 8 a.m. and she’s opening the curtains, pulling the duvet back and shouting, ‘C’mon Christian! It’s late. Let’s go!’

CM: That’s right! (laughs)

PC: Who would feature in your all-star line up, alive or dead?

CM: I think that I was lucky enough to almost play in the dream band I wanted to play in.

My fantasy band that I could play in, would probably be: Freddie Hubbard on Trumpet, Wayne Shorter playing saxophone, Bobby Hutchinson on the vibes. I’m not sure who would play piano, I don’t know if it would be McCoy Tyner or Herbie Hancock (that’s a hard one). And I think Tony Williams on drums.

PC: Imagine that! Do you have a name for your most cherished instrument? Like Willie Nelson’s guitar is called ‘Trigger’?

CM: I have named all of my instruments. My two acoustic basses are called Matilda and Minnie.

PC: Names you like, or a reference to something?

CM: The bass that I’ve had the longest – it’s a German bass that was built in the early nineteen hundreds – it’s a three quarter-sized bass and the shoulders on this bass are relatively small compared to a lot of basses, it’s not a very wide bass, so that’s why I call it ‘Minnie’.

PC: Does it still sound good now?

CM: That’s been the bass that I’ve used for most records since the mid ‘90s. She still sounds absolutely awesome and Matilda is the bass that I got in Australia: that’s why she is called ‘Matilda’.

PC: Have you ever harboured any longings of wanting to be in a movie portraying a musician? You do seem very natural in front of the camera.

CM: No, never had an urge to be in front of a camera. If I were ever in front of the camera I would rather have a silly, comedic role.

PC: You have worked with a local lad from my hometown in North East England, Sting, who is a favourite of mine. How did you connect with him?

CM: I think it was through Chris Botti. I had done some work with Chris in the studio in 1999, and also in 2000 I played on two of his recordings. On both of those sessions he used musicians from Sting’s band. I guess in the spring of 2001 my manager called me and said, ‘Hey! I got some good news. Somebody from Sting’s office called and Sting wants you to play on his next album. A live album in Italy.’ I thought, ‘Wow!’ That was just… I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t even process that. Man, I was going to play with Sting! A live album!

So I flew to Italy to rehearse with him for a few days. As you well know, the concert was scheduled for September 11th so I flew to Italy on September 1st. Since I was the new guy in the band he wanted to fly me over early, so I could rehearse with him and get to know the music a little bit before the rest of the band arrived. We had a wonderful ten days together. Then we all know what happened.

Actually the night before the concert, all of the guests showed up – we had a sort of dress rehearsal/warm up concert on the 10th. On that night Sting pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey man, I want to talk to you about some future work.’ He said, ‘I really enjoy having you in the band. I think you make a nice addition and I’d like to see if you would be interested in staying in the band.’ I went, ‘Are you kidding? Absolutely!’ So I played with him for the next year-and-a-half.

PC: You look very comfortable with him. You obviously hit it off.

CM: I love the fact that we still get to work together on occasion, 18-year relationship.

PC: I watched the video of you interviewing him and you were asking if he had seen certain people perform back in the day and he was saying, ‘No, no we couldn’t afford to do that,’ which was very much the case in Newcastle and the North East.

CM: I can’t remember if I asked him this in that interview, but one of my favourite stories he ever told me was about the first time he saw Jimi Hendrix. I can only imagine, if you see Jimi Hendrix for the first time in 1968, I’m sure your mind was blown. Sting said he was sitting there in the audience thinking, ‘What planet is this guy from?’ He’d never seen anything like that. He’d never heard anything like that. Sting said his mouth was hanging open.

PC: I bet it was! Gosh! How far do your musical tastes extend, not in playing terms but as in the Christian McBride road trip mix tape?

CM: Oh man, you are literally going to hear a little bit of everything! You are going to hear a lot of James Brown!

PC: That’s a given!

CM: At least 50% of the playlist will be James Brown, the other 50% would be a lot of jazz, a lot of classical music, you may even hear some country music. You spoke of Willie Nelson: I love Willie Nelson; I love Dolly Parton; I love Patsy Cline.

PC: Have you heard Willie Nelson’s son Lukas? I love his music.

CM: I’ve worked with Lukas. I played with him at a performance in San Francisco: Lukas was on it and Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead.

PC: No way! You are just too cool. Was that performance recorded? I’d like to see it.

CM: I don’t think so, it was for a fundraising event. It was wonderful to play with him. Yes, Lukas is really good and getting to work with his dad, of course, that was a big thrill. I played on a Willie Nelson [album] called, I think, American Classic.

PC: And now a very important question: do you dance?

CM: Yes, I have to admit, I do dance.

PC: Yes! That’s good! I like a man who dances!

CM: You know James Brown is my hero so… any kid that loves James Brown will try to dance like him.

PC: Do you succeed?

CM: Oh yeah! One day I’m sure some footage will leak out. (Laughing)

PC: Yeah I’m going to go right to Sting or James Spader now and say, ‘Oh yes Christian said it was okay to talk about that.’

CM: Yes.

PC: Do you remember what the first record you ever bought was? Or did you not buy records because you were going to see live gigs?

CM: Oh no. I remember I was in middle school – I must have been 12 years old. When I was in 7th grade, there was one time in my life I was very academically accomplished so I made it onto this list: The Presidential’s All-American Academic list, and I got into this national directory (there’s like a big book). I think it might have been 1000 students in the United States who all had 3.8 to 4.0 GPAs. I was one of those students so I got in the book and everything. I’m sure my mother still has it.

As a reward for my good grades, my mother took me to a record store and she said, ‘Pick out your own record.’ Because this was also the time when I was starting to really fall in love with jazz.

The timing was absolutely perfect because (this would have been in 1984) this was the year Blue Note Records started to reissue a lot of their classic albums from the ‘50s and early ‘60s. And so I remember, inside this record store there was a Blue Note wall, and there must have been about 12 classic Blue Note albums that had just been issued and remastered. I remember seeing Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, Wayne Shorter, Art Blakey. I’m just staring at these albums, ‘Wow! Look at that!’ And my mother said, ‘Well go ahead and pick on, whichever one you want.’ So the first jazz album I ever picked out was Wayne Shorter’s Juju.

PC: And do you still have it?

CM: Oh absolutely!

PC: You keep on surprising me. I thought you might have said, ‘Oh no it got lost.’

CM: No, no. See, because my uncle (my mother’s brother), he worked for a radio station, to him albums were like real estate: you take care of this, don’t let it get water damage, don’t scratch it, so you know, albums were like gold in our home.

PC: Sacred! Is there a song that holds a special place on your heart or evokes a certain memory?

CM: No matter how many times I listen to it I still get teary-eyed, and that’s probably Frank Sinatra’s version of ‘”My Heart Stood Still”.

PC: Is that associated with anything or just because you love it?

CM: I just love it. You hear songs about romance, you hear the orchestra. You can tell Sinatra did not rehearse – he did not sing with rehearsed emotions. You could tell he did not have a coach that says, ‘You know, you really got to get the message across, close your eyes when you sing.’ It’s like it’s natural emotion. The story of the song has so much emotion in it already, you don’t have to close your eyes and be dramatic when you sing it – the story is dramatic enough.

PC: What is your favourite or most used word? You are allowed to swear but I’m sure you are a gentleman.

CM: Thank you. You are very kind (laughing). I almost wonder if you should ask my wife… I don’t even know if I am conscious of a word I use all the time. Oh I believe that when I’m making points – like if I’m talking to someone doing a workshop or a masterclass and I start telling stories about what happens, about my experiences on the road – I notice that I often use the phrase (it’s not a word) ‘you know, it’s funny’.

PC: How would you spend your perfect day?

CM: My perfect day is laying in bed with my iPad, watching a sporting event.

PC: And then you get up to go out for lunch… and at night to your favourite club… no?

CM: Err no. I would just stay in bed the whole day! And the evening!

PC: What could you not live without (apart from music and sport)?

CM: Comedy. I think this world has forgotten how to laugh, that really breaks my heart.

You can find Christian on Facebook and Twitter

Jazz House Kids on Facebook.

Editor Davina Baynes.

Disclaimer:

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Any opinions or views expressed within the interview are the subject’s own and publication does not imply endorsement of any such opinions or views by Absolute Music Chat or its personnel.


Senator Nick Xenophon has attacked the Church of Scientology. Senator Xenophon said their correspondence implicated the organisation in a range of crimes, including forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, embezzlement of church funds, physical violence, intimidation and blackmail. "I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers," he said. Senator Xenophon said the Church of Scientology had been convicted of fraud in France and was facing similar charges in Belgium. A number of the organisation's former high ranking executives in the US had also recently spoken out against its leader, David Miscavige, saying they had seen him assaulting staff and urging others to do the same, he said.

"What we are seeing is a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality," Senator Xenophon said. "On the body of evidence, this is not happening by accident, it is happening by design. "Scientology is not a religious organisation, it is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs." Eight letters from former members of the organisation were tabled in Parliament. Paul David Schofield said his first daughter Lauren had died after she was allowed to wander one of the Church of Scientology's Sydney buildings and fell down some stairs.

"My wife and I were actively discouraged from seeking compensation from the church," he wrote. "I was also encouraged by church executives to request no coronial inquiry into her death, something I stupidly agreed with at that time." Mr Schofield's second daughter Kirsty also died, in this case after ingesting potassium chloride at the family home - a substance he said was used widely in the organisation's "purification" programs. "I did not tell the truth either to the police or the court (to my shame) but omitted details which would have 'embarrassed' the church," he wrote. In another letter, Aaron Saxton said that as a member of the organisation, he participated in the "forced confinement and torture" of others.

He wrote that Scientologists considered to be "underperforming" were placed on diets of beans and rice for up to two weeks at a time, and they were also not allowed to access medications or undergo procedures such as pap smears. In her letter to Senator Xenophon, Carmel Underwood said she knew of one instance where a Church of Scientology trainee counsellor's molestation of his step-daughter was covered up. While in another episode, Ms Underwood said the organisation interrogated her over three days in Sydney about her alleged "misdeeds". Senator Xenophon said many names had been erased from the letters he had tabled in Parliament. "But those names haven't been removed from copies I am providing to the police," he told the Senate.

Loading "This organisation must be investigated."


[Hydatid cyst disease mimicking metastatic lung disease: a case report].
Pulmonary hydatid cysts usually present as a single lesion, whereas multiple cases are rare. It is not easy to distinguish hydatid cyst and nodular lesions radiologically. Chest radiograph of a 22 years-old male patient who was admitted due to right sided chest pain, revealed bilateral pulmonary nodules. His computerized tomography (CT) showed 34 nodular densities in the right lung and 21 nodular densities in the left lung. At that time, metastatic lung disease was suggested . Tru-cut lung biopsy was non-diagnostic. Anti-E. granulosus IgG (ELISA) was positive and hydatid cyst disease (HCD) was set as a prediagnosis. A right thoracotomy was performed and more cysts in number than those in tomography were observed intraoperatively. Postoperatively, 800 mg per day albendazole treatment was started. CT at the second month of medical therapy revealed that the lesions were stable in number but their sizes were smaller. CT of the fourth month showed that some of the lesions became cavitary. HCD should be kept in to mind in case of doubtful radiological findings. Although main treatment modality is surgery for HCD, when all cysts can not remove with the surgical treatment in patient with multiple cysts, medical treatment can be administered.


@Jpere ... I agree with you, but as you can see, in 3 posts we went off subject.

There are lots of issues that need to be fixed and that need rules.

To get back to the subject. "Landmarks".I did a few edits and I tested some of them, so here are my observations:1- Small stores have no visibility on the client (iphone4s) ... minimum size required.2- The 3D view is much better to see Landmarks in the client.3- The important point would be for the driver to know there is a Wallmart close by. This would mean that the size of the landmark needs to be as big as possible. This may mean including small parking lots in the landmark.4- For bigger shopping malls, parking lot roads make sense for main entrance/exits, but the parking lot roads close to the streets need to be at specific distance in the map otherwise user gets "snapped" to the street. Maybe for much bigger one "Parking lot landmark" would make sense as well, with or without parking lot roads. (testing some of that at the moment)5- Naming of the landmark needs to be small if there are other landmarks near by. I think that at some point we need to keep the landmarks generic ("Library of Old-guy-dead-for-may-year-yet-important" should be only "Library", unless the actual library name is small.) 6- We are missing POI in the client. Once that could be activated the landmarks would be less important. We need to have at least the basic ones (Gas, shopping, police, fire, hospital, pharmacy, auto_repair, and a few others.)7- It would be of some importance to have many small store merged in the same landmark but with NoName so that the user knows there is something of importance there, without messing up the map.8- The client is not good enough at the moment to properly display satellite accurate landmarks, so a Blob would do the job just as well. 9- I see many alerts from Waze regarding undefined gas stations. So for these landmarks we need to understand if the Gas Landmark suppresses trafic or if we need to edit Parking lot roads.10- Editing needs to be fast and easy. At the moment we wave way too many Landmarks type from the editor. The Editor should focus on the minimal work required. Once all of that is defined, then they can add in the bonus ones

I did not test everything yet, and I am sure a ton of people have more experience than me so I am willing to adapt as long as it makes sense..

I played around with a few landmarks and now that I was able to test an update on my iphone4s I think we are missing a critical piece in the editor.

We are missing an importance metric for landmarks.

All landmarks should be created if they can be properly maintained. The major or critical landmarks should have a greater importance. At the moment, it seems that the client landmark display is based on size and but it is not always the case, some weird algorithm.

So we need to ask for a change in the editor e1:- add importance metric for every landmark (so we can put small stuff as non important)e2:- attach point for label (especially useful for large landmarks)e4:- many small unimportant landmarks should be visually merged in a no-name landmark. (at the moment they disappear)

Some of the editor changes also apply to the client and vice versa.We also need to ask for a change in the client for the way landmarks are displayed. c1:- smaller font on less critical landmarks. Or an option to include specific level landmarks.c2:- shorter text on long names (so the landmark name does not impact the road names or other landmarks)c3:- attach point for landmarks (Would be nice to have a small list of available landmarks and their location on map with an arrow or line. This can be based on selected landmark types chosen.)c4:- wrap around for hyphen words (MrBigshotSuchandSuch-Oldschool-Landmark should be on 2or3 lines so it will be easier to read)c5:- Critical landmarks to have type visible even if not zoomed in. Hospital, Police. Maybe include Icons for critical landmarks.

We need the Police and Firestation and hospital to be more important than City-Hall, gas stations to have priority over convenience stores and some Supermarkets to have priority over large parks.We need a priority list of all things displayed.

CrackedLCD wrote:Personally I would like to see the parking lots mapped only over parking areas, and a separate landmark could be drawn for shopping malls or other nearby large buildings. I'm not sure how it'd look on the map, though.

Check out Edgewater Mall in Biloxi, MS. I drew in the mall separately from the parking lot. Waste of time. There's no obvious difference on the client.

I could've just drawn one large landmark around the perimeter, set it as Parking Lot, and named it Edgewater Mall and it would have have the same effect.

CrackedLCD wrote:In that case, why should we even label malls and other big landmarks anything other than parking lot, if they all look the same?

Now that parking lot roads are fixed I don't use parking lot landmarks anymore. You can add in extra roads in cases where a landmark may have been needed before.

You certainly don't need a landmark if you draw the roads. Except in the case of a mall, which is typically marked with a landmark anyway, and is so large and has so few roads compared to paved area, that both are necessary. Might as well make the entire mall and parking lot one big PLot landmark.

mtlgab wrote:If the landmark goes beyond the building limits that would mean it will cover some parking roads but that is against the rules (see above).

Parking lot roads are part of the landmark, so that wouldn't apply. I actually put that section into the Wiki after discovering HUNDREDS of sloppy parking lot landmarks that covered the streets surrounding the landmark, making those surrounding streets ignore traffic jams.

rbthomp76 wrote:I think it would be great if parking lots did not appear in the client. Can we have them on a separate layer? I think they present a better solution than parking lot roads (which can get pretty nasty looking especially along frontage roads).

(I'm very thankful that I haven't needed to use Waze to get out of any parking lots!!!).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I completely agree with this idea. I think it would just confuse the average user.

I agree also. And the Parking Lot Roads could stand to be a lot dimmer in the client, like the Pedestrian Boardwalks. You can barely see those.

mtlgab wrote:6- We are missing POI in the client. Once that could be activated the landmarks would be less important. We need to have at least the basic ones (Gas, shopping, police, fire, hospital, pharmacy, auto_repair, and a few others.)9- I see many alerts from Waze regarding undefined gas stations. So for these landmarks we need to understand if the Gas Landmark suppresses trafic or if we need to edit Parking lot roads.

6. POIs are searchable in the client and have been for quite some time. They don't show on the client though and won't unless a landmark is placed.


Q:

Count distinct rows where another column not the same

I would like to know how to do a count on NUM, where CODE is not distinct?
So the count would be Two!?
CODE    NUM
T1  1001
T1  1001
T1  1001
T2  1002
T2  1002
T3  1003
T3  1003
T4  1003
T5  1004
T5  1004
T5  1004
T6  1005
T7  1005
T7  1005

A:

 Try Below code :

 SELECT NUM , COUNT(*)
 FROM #table
 GROUP BY NUM
 HAVING COUNT(DISTINCT CODE) > 1


Q:

Use of UIActivityViewController and UIActivityItemProvider to share PDF

I need to share/open some different files under iOS e.g. an image to iCloud or an pdf to iBooks. There are several examples around for text and images but nothing for somewhat else...
I created my own UIActivityItemProvider; simplified version here:
class MyItemProvider: UIActivityItemProvider {

  override func item() -> AnyObject {
    self.placeholderItem
  }

  override func activityViewController(activityViewController: UIActivityViewController, dataTypeIdentifierForActivityType activityType: String?) -> String {
    return kUTTypePDF as String
  }

  func activityViewControllerPlaceholderItem(activityViewController: UIActivityViewController) -> AnyObject {
    return self.placeholderItem
  }
}

And start sharing with something like:
let myPDF = NSData(contentsOfURL: NSBundle.mainBundle().URLForResource("testpdf", withExtension: "pdf")) {
let activityVC = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: [MyItemProvider(placeHolder: myPDF)], applicationActivities: nil)
self.presentViewController(activityVC, animated: true, completion: nil)

I expect a sharedialog like:

But all I get is:

Any suggestions?

A:

**
Share a PDF with UIActivityViewController in Swift 3
**
I've spent a lot of time thinking ways to share a PDF file within UIWebView loaded from a URL, like "http://youPdfFile.pdf"
After a coupe of days, I've found what I think it's the most suitable way:
1) The PDF must first be saved in the file system. For example, this can be done after loading the UIWebView:
class yourViewController: UIViewController{
       var documentPathToLoad = "http://youPdfFile.pdf"
       ...

       func webViewDidFinishLoad(_ webView: UIWebView) {
           if yourWebView.isLoading {
               // still loading
               return
           }

           //Save the pdf document to file system
           savePdf()
       }

       func savePdf(){
           let fileManager = FileManager.default
           let paths = (NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomain((.documentDirectory, .userDomainMask, true)[0] as NSString).appendingPathComponent("documento.pdf")
           let pdfDoc = NSData(contentsOf:URL(string: documentPathToLoad)!)
           fileManager.createFile(atPath: paths as String, contents: pdfDoc as Data?, attributes: nil)
       }
}

2) Read the saved file and then share it. This method works for me in  Swift 3.0.1:
func loadPDFAndShare(){

           let fileManager = FileManager.default
           let documentoPath = (self.getDirectoryPath() as NSString).appendingPathComponent("documento.pdf")

           if fileManager.fileExists(atPath: documentoPath){
                let documento = NSData(contentsOfFile: documentoPath)
                let activityViewController: UIActivityViewController = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: [documento!], applicationActivities: nil)
                activityViewController.popoverPresentationController?.sourceView=self.view
                present(activityViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
            }
            else {
                print("document was not found")
            }
        }

A:

You have to pass pdf file url for pdf supported applications' options in UIActivityViewController.
func btnTapped() {
    if let pdf = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "yourPdfFileName", withExtension: "pdf", subdirectory: nil, localization: nil)  {
        self.sharePdf(path: pdf)
    }
}

func sharePdf(path:URL) {

    let fileManager = FileManager.default

    if fileManager.fileExists(atPath: path.path) {
        let activityViewController: UIActivityViewController = UIActivityViewController(activityItems: [path], applicationActivities: nil)
        activityViewController.popoverPresentationController?.sourceView = self.view
        self.present(activityViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
    } else {
        print("document was not found")
        let alertController = UIAlertController(title: "Error", message: "Document was not found!", preferredStyle: .alert)
        let defaultAction = UIAlertAction.init(title: "ok", style: UIAlertAction.Style.default, handler: nil)
        alertController.addAction(defaultAction)
        UIViewController.hk_currentViewController()?.present(alertController, animated: true, completion: nil)
    }
}

A:

The existing answers demonstrate how to share a PDF using a local file's URL. However you don't have to create a file if you don't want to. The alternative is to use Data representation of your PDF file.
Let's say your're using PDFKit to display PDFs in UI. It means that you would deal with PDFKit.PDFDocument class which has dataRepresentation() method. This method returns Data which can be passed to UIActivityViewController initialiser.


Q:

Apex Syntax Error?

This code works in Execute Anonymous, but when I try to make an Apex class I get this error on line: Expecting '}' but was: 'insert'.  Any thoughts? Thanks.
public class InvoiceAccounts {
// Create a list of InvoiceAccounts
List<InvoiceAccount__c> InvA_List = new List<InvoiceAccount__c> {
 new InvoiceAccount__c(Name='Joe',Account_Owner_Name__c='Smith',Account_Owner_Title__c='Sir'),
new InvoiceAccount__c(Name='Kathy',Account_Owner_Name__c='Smith',Account_Owner_Title__c='Sir'),
new InvoiceAccount__c(Name='Caroline',Account_Owner_Name__c='Roth',Account_Owner_Title__c='Sir'),
 new InvoiceAccount__c(Name='Kim',Account_Owner_Name__c='Shain',Account_Owner_Title__c='Sir')};

// Bulk insert all InvoiceAccount__cs with one DML call

insert InvA_List;

}

A:

Within a class, executable code must be inside of a method. Typically, this means you simply add a line for the method signature, and another closing curly bracket.
public class InvoiceAccounts {
  public static void createInvoiceAccounts() {
    // Create a list of InvoiceAccounts
    List<InvoiceAccount__c> InvA_List = new List<InvoiceAccount__c> {
      new InvoiceAccount__c(Name='Joe',Account_Owner_Name__c='Smith',Account_Owner_Title__c='Sir'),
      new InvoiceAccount__c(Name='Kathy',Account_Owner_Name__c='Smith',Account_Owner_Title__c='Sir'),
      new InvoiceAccount__c(Name='Caroline',Account_Owner_Name__c='Roth',Account_Owner_Title__c='Sir'),
      new InvoiceAccount__c(Name='Kim',Account_Owner_Name__c='Shain',Account_Owner_Title__c='Sir')};

    // Bulk insert all InvoiceAccount__cs with one DML call

    insert InvA_List;

  }
}

Which you then call as a static method:
InvoiceAccounts.createInvoiceAccounts();


“Son of Batman” And “Batman: Assault on Arkham” Announced For 2014 DC Animated Universe Original Movie Slate

Warner Home Video has released details on the 2014 line-up of titles in the acclaimed DC Universe Animated Original Movie line Friday night, July 19th, 2013, at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, with the new titles highlighting Batman. The new 2014 titles were announced during the world premiere of the new Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox animated feature. A co-production of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the DC Universe Animated Original Movie line adapts stories from DC Comics lore mixed with new content. At least three new titles are released a year since the line’s inception in 2007.

The upcoming DC Universe Animated Original Movie titles announced include Son of Batman, based on the “Batman and Son” story-arc from Batman, coming for Summer 2014. Then, Batman: Assault on Arkham will see release come Fall 2014, taking advantage of the high-profile “Arkham” brand.

These two titles will join the previously announced Justice League: War animated feature, slated for Winter/Spring 2014, with details on that title originally broken right here at The World’s Finest.

Warner Home Video’s Gary Miereanu screened the Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox animated feature, based on the DC Comics mini-series “Flashpoint,” at San Diego Comic-Con before announcing details on the upcoming 2014 titles.

Click here to view the trailer for Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. The press release, including package artwork, announcing the home video release of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is available at The World’s Finest.

A co-production of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the direct-to-video Justice League: The Flashpoint animated feature arrives July 30th, 2013 on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and for Download.

Stay tuned for further updates and more here soon at The World’s Finest, including exclusive content and much more.

Discuss Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox at The DC Animation Forum!

Discuss Justice League: War at The DC Animation Forum!

Discuss Son of Batman at The DC Animation Forum!

Discuss Batman: Assault on Arkham at The DC Animation Forum!

Discuss the DC Universe Animated Original Movie line at The DC Animation Forum!

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USF School Of Public Affairs To Study New Tampa Business

In campaign meetings with New Tampa community leaders and residents, former City of Tampa Police (TPD) Chief and mayoral candidate Jane Castor said the usual concerns were raised by those groups. But, along with traffic congestion, the conditions of roads and the affordability of homes, the topic of New Tampa businesses came up often.

“One of the main issues was concern over a lack of sustained retail along Bruce B. Downs,” Castor says.

Castor’s thought was that while no single reason was given for what might be causing what some see as an exodus of restaurants and retailers — although congested local roads, access and the growth of Wesley Chapel were mentioned — she also says New Tampa’s business climate was worth looking at. “I’m excited about the study,” Castor says.

In a chance meeting shortly thereafter with Karen Kress, the director of Transportation and Planning for the Tampa Downtown Partnership, wheels were put in motion for a study that is now being organized by the University of South Florida’s School of Public Affairs and director Ron Sanders, says Sam Becker, an intern for Kress, who attended one of Castor’s meetings with local groups. Afterwards, Becker had a discussion with Castor and Kress, and brought up the idea of a study to Sanders, who conducted a poll of graduate students working towards their Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning.

Four students volunteered to conduct the study, which also will include input from local business leaders, District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera and the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

According to Sanders, the study, which is still being defined, will take place this summer and in two phases — one will be a “listening tour” that will be conducted through meetings held with focus groups of citizens and business owners, and two, there also will be a field study.

“We’re still trying to find the parameters of the study, but the basic premise is to try to look at what is happening in New Tampa, the outmigration of some of the stores, and see if there’s anything that can be done about it,” Sanders says.

District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera has been pushing for some kind of study, and he says he was pleased to learn USF would be involved.

Too Much Ado About It?

While there are some who feel the issue is overblown and that the current outmigration is simply part of a national trend that’s the result of the cyclical nature of business combined with the ever-changing effect of e-commerce, Viera hopes the study will root out any potential underlying issues.

As we’ve reported in previous issues, the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza has seen HH Gregg, Staples and Bed Bath & Beyond close; restaurants like Casa Ramos in Tampa Palms and Ruby Tuesday on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd just north of I-75, also have been shuttered.

The old Romano’s Macaroni Grill site has twice been reborn as a Mexican restaurant that failed both times, and even non-chain restaurants like the once-super-popular Spanish restaurant Café Olé have shut down.

There are signs of life, however. The old Dairy Queen on BBD is now a Jamaican restaurant (see ad on page 43), the Beef O’Brady’s on Cross Creek Blvd. is expected to reopen soon as an Italian eatery, and Las Palmas has re-opened in a different New Tampa location after the original location closed in 2018.

Also, The Village at Hunter’s Lake project will bring more than a dozen new businesses to New Tampa when it is completed.

“I think it is not clear how much (of the business closings) are consistent with national trends, or if it’s cyclical, or part of it is technology,” Sanders says. “If it’s part of a macro trend, or national, it’s not clear how much can be done about it. But, we’ll also look for local circumstances and conditions that may be driving it. Those are more addressable.”

Sanders also says the study will be ideal for his students, and that USF wants to be a good neighbor and lend a hand. If the study does produce something concrete, it could lead to the city conducting something “more extensive and sophisticated.”

The study is still being developed, so how long it will take and when results will be published are unclear.


Santa Barbara DUI Roundup: 23 Arrests in November

In November, officers from the Santa Barbara Police Department made 23 arrests for driving under the influence violations. Numerous arrests are made each month when concerned citizens call 9-1-1 after witnessing possible DUI drivers.

The SBPD would like to thank the responsible citizens who take the time to call and report suspected drunken drivers. The following is information on a few of last month’s cases.

» Nov. 1 at 8:11 p.m.: A 32-year-old man was involved in a hit-and-run collision when he collided with a parked car on the 1100 block of Quinientos Street. A witness observed that man exit his vehicle and flee on foot. The witness followed the man until an officer arrived and detained him. The officer immediately noticed that the man smelled strongly of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet. The man denied driving or being in a collision, explaining that he was drunk and unlicensed and therefore could not legally drive. The officer noticed that the man had injuries consistent with having just been in a collision.

The officer completed a DUI investigation and determined that the man was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. The man, who was positively identified as the hit-and-run driver by multiple witnesses, was placed under arrest for DUI. He chose to submit to a breath test, providing two samples that registered his BAC at 0.22 and 0.21. He was issued a citation for DUI, hit-and-run, and unlicensed driver and admitted into the Sobering Center.

• • •

» Nov. 1 at 10:43 p.m.: A 34-year-old man was driving with inoperative brake lights in the area of Cacique Street and Alisos Street. An officer observed the violation and conducted a traffic stop. The officer contacted the man at his driver's side window and noticed that he displayed signs of intoxication. He also saw that the man had an 11-year-old boy riding in the front passenger seat of his car holding an infant on his lap. Additionally, there was a 16-year-old boy seated in the rear.

The officer had the man step out of the vehicle and noticed that he had slurred speech, smelled strongly of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet. The officer conducted a DUI investigation and the man was unable to complete field sobriety tests due to his level of intoxication. He was determined to be too intoxicated to safely drive and to have placed the three minor children in the vehicle in danger; he was arrested on charges of DUI and child endangerment. The man provided a blood test that registered his BAC at 0.27.

An inventory search of the vehicle prior to it being towed revealed a black backpack belonging to the 16-year-old. Located inside the backpack were three bindles of cocaine, a bottle of beer and a bottle of tequila. One additional bindle of cocaine was found in the 16-year-old boy’s pocket.

The driver was booked at the County Jail on charges of DUI and child endangerment with a bail amount of $100,000. The 16-year-old juvenile was found to have a BAC of 0.12 and was taken to Cottage Hospital to be medically cleared for booking. He was then booked at Juvenile Hall for child endangerment, possession of cocaine and minor in possession of alcohol. This case was forwarded to Child Welfare Services.

• • •

» Nov. 3 at 6:52 p.m.: A 31-year-old woman was involved in a single-vehicle collision on the 2500 block of Treasure Drive when she collided with a curb, damaging the front of her vehicle and causing its airbags to deploy. Witnesses called 9-1-1 when they observed the woman leave her vehicle in the middle of the roadway and flee on foot. Officers arrived on scene and located the driver at her home near the collision scene. She admitted to driving the vehicle when the collision occurred and was positively identified as the driver by a witness.

One of the officers noticed that the woman appeared intoxicated, but she denied consuming any alcohol. The officer conducted a DUI investigation and determined that she was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. She was arrested on charges of DUI, and she chose to submit to breath tests, which registered her BAC at 0.28 and 0.28. She was issued a citation for DUI and hit-and-run.

• • •

» Nov. 8 at 5:46 p.m.: A 30-year-old woman was driving on the 1400 block of East Cabrillo Boulevard when she drifted off the roadway and collided with a tree. An officer arrived on scene and saw that several citizens had stopped to help the woman. The officer contacted the woman, who was being tended to by paramedics, and noticed that she smelled strongly of alcohol and was displaying signs of intoxication. She initially denied having consumed any alcohol, but later admitted to having three glasses of wine about one hour prior to driving.

The officer conducted a DUI investigation and determined that she was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. She chose to submit to breath tests, which registered her BAC at 0.19 and 0.18. She was issued a citation for DUI and unlicensed driver and was admitted into the Sobering Center.

• • •

» Nov. 9 at 3:15 p.m.: A 24-year-old woman was driving north on Castillo Street toward the Highway 101 northbound freeway entrance when she made an unsafe lane change and collided with a vehicle. She fled the scene, followed by the driver whose car she struck. The driver of the victim vehicle called 9-1-1 and updated SBPD dispatch with the woman's location.

Officers contacted the woman on the 300 block of West Valerio Street. One of the officers noticed that the woman smelled of alcohol and was displaying symptoms of intoxication. She admitted being involved in the collision and stated she had consumed two beers and one shot of schnapps prior to driving.

An officer conducted a DUI investigation and determined that the woman was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. She was placed under arrest on a charge of DUI and provided two breath samples, which registered her BAC at 0.15 and 0.16. She was issued a citation for DUI and hit-and-run.

• • •

» Nov. 10 at 12:10 a.m.: A 50-year-old man was involved in a collision when he struck two parked vehicles in the 800 block of Salsipuedes Street. The force of the impact broke an axle of his car; he exited his vehicle and fled on foot. Three independent witnesses observed the collision and gave chase to the man. One witness called 9-1-1 while pursuing the man and continually updated SBPD Dispatch of his direction of travel.

An officer located the man in the 800 block of East De la Guerra Street, and another officer responded to conduct the investigation in Spanish. The man denied driving, stating that just prior to the accident an acquaintance had jumped in his car, driven off with it and crashed. He said that following the collision the acquaintance fled on foot.

The man was positively identified by several witnesses as the driver and sole occupant of his vehicle at the time of the collision. An officer conducted a DUI investigation and determined that the man was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. He was arrested on charges of DUI and chose to submit to breath tests, which registered his BAC at 0.18 and 0.18. Following his arrest, the man became uncooperative, prompting the officer to book him into the County Jail on charges of DUI, hit-and-run and driving on a suspended license.

• • •

» Nov. 17 at 7:29 p.m.: A 57-year-old man was involved in a single-vehicle traffic collision at State Street and Calle Real when he collided with a chain-link fence. Several witnesses stated that prior to the collision they observed the man stopped at a red light at the intersection, passed out behind the wheel of his car. The witnesses knocked on the window to check on the man, who, upon waking, drove off and collided with the fence.

Officers arrived and contacted the man, who stated that he had only consumed one beer prior to driving. Officers noticed that the man was on probation for DUI and appeared to be very intoxicated. The officers conducted a DUI investigation and determined that the man was too intoxicated to safely operate a motor vehicle. He was placed under arrest on charges of DUI and he provided two breath samples, which registered his BAC at 0.29 and 0.29. He was booked into the County Jail.

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Why do I feel so restless and hot at night?

Answered by: |

Q:I am a 50-year-old healthy and active woman pursuing a good career as a school principal. All my medical tests are normal. Lately, I have started getting up in the middle of my sleep with a very rapid heart beat and a severe headache. I have a feeling of insecurity and rather than feeling cold in this weather, I feel like throwing away my clothes. My husband is very caring and he shares the stressful moments with me in the middle of the night. This situation lasts for a couple of hours after which I feel normal.

A:The first thing that comes to mind is menopause, which is common at your age and especially known to cause attacks with feeling of warmth. You might also be experiencing anxiety, which need not have a specific cause such as trouble in the family and might also be related to menopause. There are other, much rarer causes of warmth, headache, and palpitation but if there are no other symptoms and the doctors have done basic tests which are normal, these other causes seem very unlikely. The main reason to remember that there are unusual causes is that they should be considered in greater depth if the symptoms persist and something new comes up. But common things
are the usual explanation and menopause seems most likely.


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