Not even blindness can stop vocalist/keyboardist Joe McBride. His status as one of today’s most popular contemporary jazz musicians is rooted in a solid foundation of talent. Born in 1963 in Fulton, Missouri, he began playing piano at age four and started singing in high school. As a teenager, McBride contracted a degenerative eye disease and eventually lost his eyesight, but his passion for music was never impaired. He continued his studies at the Missouri School for the Blind and at Webster University in suburban St. Louis. McBride trekked to the sunny shores of San Diego for a while before enrolling at North Texas State University to study jazz and performance.
When McBride finally stepped out as a leader in 1992 with “Grace”, his first CD for Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, he quickly became a favorite in the contemporary jazz genre. His next recordings – “A Gift for Tomorrow” (1994), “Keys to Your Heart” (1996) and “Double Take” (1998) – featured some of the giants of contemporary jazz, including Grover Washington Jr., Peter White, Dave Koz, Rick Braun, Larry Carlton, and others.