ABOUT BIG NEW YORK

2021 was a breakout year for bassist and composer Christian de Mesones. His debut solo album, “They Call Me Big New York” features 25 national recording artists, has garnered multiple top-ten singles and is closing in on 2 million streams on Spotify. His 2020 single, “Big Tall Wish” was featured on the Dave Koz Lounge show on Watercolors Sirius XM and reached #6 on the Groove Jazz/RadioWave chart. Jazziz Magazine featured a fan favorite from the album, “Year of the Dragon,” in its World Music edition, and the song reached #1 on the Radio Guitar One Network. His single “Hispanica (Instrumental)” featuring legendary pianist Bob James delivered de Mesones his greatest chart success to date, reaching #1 on Billboard’s Smooth Jazz Airplay chart and landing solidly near or at the top of MediaBase, RadioWave, SmoothJazz.com, and Groove Jazz charts. de Mesones also reached  #1 on Allen Kepler’s Smooth Jazz Network Top 100 Chart, was one of their Breakout Artist nominees for 2021, and was nominated as Instrumentalist of the Year on SoulTracks.com for three years in a row. 

de Mesones rounded out a stellar year as the STLSmoothJazz.com Central Standard Time Show’s  Artist of the Year for 2021, and Brian Culbertson featured “Hispanica (Instrumental)” in his SiriusXM Radio Watercolors “Year in in Review” show as one of the Top 25 Songs of 2021. 

Christian has been playing bass for over 40 years. He graduated from the Bass Institute of Technology (Now the Musician’s Institute) in Hollywood, California, and has been part of musical groups from all over the country, including bands out of Hawaii, Hollywood, New York City, Richmond, Virginia and Washington, DC.  For the past ten years, de Mesones has wowed audiences with his unique compositions, as well as his distinctive vision as a bandleader. His sound is best described as “smooth grooves and funky soul with a Latin flair,” and he has a reputation of presenting a large ensemble featuring many of the most talented artists in the DMV. He has opened for several national recording artists, including Sheila E, Will Downing, Jonathan Butler, Damien Escobar, Down to the Bone, Marion Meadows, Chuck Brown, and Roberta Flack, and he has performed at the Catalina Island Jazz Trax Festival; Jazz Legacy Foundation Annual Gala in Hampton, VA; the Capital Jazz and Lake Arbor Jazz festivals in Maryland; the 2 Street Festival in Richmond; Spaghettini in Seal Beach, CA; The Carlyle Club in Alexandria; Bethesda Blues & Jazz; and he has sold out multiple shows at the legendary Blues Alley Supper club in Washington, DC.  de Mesones made his debut at The Birchmere in March 2022 and returned to The Birchmere in April 2023 and June 2024 with his dynamic new show, "You Only Live Twice", named for his sophomore album released in April 2024 on the That 555 Lyfe label.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES AND COLLABORATIONS

1998 - FRIDAYS AT SUNSET, RICHMOND, VA - DOWN TO THE BONE (OPENING ACT)

1998 - FRIDAYS AT SUNSET, RICHMOND, VA - CHUCK BROWN (OPENING ACT)

1999 - FRIDAYS AT SUNSET, RICHMOND, VA - BOB BALDWIN & MARION MEADOWS (OPENING ACT)

2000 - THE BIG GIG, BROWN'S ISLAND, RICHMOND, VA - ROBERTA FLACK (OPENING ACT)

2006 - CAPITAL JAZZ FESTIVAL, COLUMBIA, MD  (RISING STAR COMPETITION)

2010 - LAKE ARBOR JAZZ FESTIVAL, MITCHELLVILLE, MD - MARCUS JOHNSON (OPENING ACT)

2011 - SOB, NEW YORK, NY - HEADLINER (WITH DREW DAVIDSEN)

2015 - A SMOOTH AND FUNKY CHRISTMAS, BETHESDA, MD - HEADLINER

2016 - A SMOOTH AND FUNKY CHRISTMAS 2, BETHESDA, MD - HEADLINER (WITH LINDSEY WEBSTER, KEITH SLATTERY, DANNY KUSZ, DAVID BACH, DREW DAVIDSEN, AND WILLIE BRADLEY)

2016 - 4TH ANNUAL JAZZ LEGACY FOUNDATION GALA MIDNIGHT JAM, HAMPTON, VA - WITH BRIAN LENAIR AND DAVID P. STEVENS

2017 - 8TH ANNUAL LAKE ARBOR JAZZ FESTIVAL, MITCHELLVILLE, MD - HEADLINER (WITH KEN FORD, JEANETTE HARRIS, GERALD VEASLEY, JAZMIN GHENTT, ROB ZINN, AND JACK TURNER)

2019 - 8TH ANNUAL JAZZ LEGACY FOUNDATION GALA MIDNIGHT JAM, HAMPTON, VA - WITH PAULA ATHERTON AND WILL DONATO)

2020 - 2 STREET FESTIVAL, RICHMOND, VA - EU (OPENING ACT)

2022 - SPAGHETTINI, SEAL BEACH, CA - WITH ILYA SEROV

2022 - 35TH ANNUAL CATALINA ISLAND JAZZ TRAX FESTIVAL, CATALINA, CA - DAMIEN ESCOBAR (OPENING ACT)

2023 - 11TH ANNUAL JAZZ LEGACY FOUNDATION GALA, HAMPTON, VA - SHEILA E., STEVE COLE, JONATHAN BUTLER, AND WILL DOWNING (OPENING ACT)

2024 - WOMEN'S SONGRITER HALL OF FAME, WASHINGTON, DC (BANDLEADER AND MUSIC DIRECTOR) WITH MARTHA MUNIZZI, ANGIE STONE, AND CRYSTAL WATERS

2024 - BIRCHMERE MUSIC HALL, ALEXANDRIA, VA (HEADLINER) WITH BILL DICKENS AND AL CALDWELL