Although Christian McBride's leader and sideman C.V. includes no small number of pungent duos with various game-changers - to name two, McCoy Tyner and Jim Hall - he has heretofore refrained from devoting an entire recording to the genre.

That discographical gap is now rectified with Conversations with Christian, on which the 39-year-old maestro places himself in the forefront of the flow on a duet apiece with '13 of my closest musical friends and cohorts' - singers Ang'lique Kidjo, Sting, and Dee Dee Bridgewater; pianists George Duke, Eddie Palmieri and Chick Corea, as well as Dr. Billy Taylor and Hank Jones (who both passed away in 2010); violinist Regina Carter; trumpeter Roy Hargrove; guitarist Russell Malone; tenor saxophonist Ron Blake; and actress Gina Gershon.

In the process, McBride unleashes the full measure of his already legendary skills, crafting as complete a portrait of his diverse interests as he has ever presented.